Small Person
by angellwings
Summary: The events that might have happened between HSM and HSM2 viewed through the eyes of our favorite composer. Chapter Fic. Kelsi-centric. Ryelsi...COMPLETED!
1. The Aftermath

Small Person

By angellwings

Kelsi waved to her mother as she drove off from the high school's front entrance. Kelsi straightened her hat and the rest of her outfit before walking into the school with a bright smile. It was the Monday after the auditions, and the past weekend had been one of the best weekends of her life. Troy and Gabriella had been cast as leads which meant Kelsi would actually get to work with actors that would listen to her. She had also made several new friends thanks to Troy and Gabriella's call back. She headed into the school and checked her watch. It was 7:30. She had plenty of time to run through a few of the arrangements for "Twinkle Town". She needed to make the transitions from scene to scene smoother. She made her way toward the rehearsal room which was where she usually spent her mornings unless she was running late.

As usual no one was there. She sighed happily as she sat down on the piano bench and her fingers grazed the keys. Perfect. This was perfect.

She was certain Sharpay would be a pain _later_, but right now…this moment…was _perfect_.

Sharpay would, of course, demand to know why Kelsi had helped Troy and Gabriella, and Kelsi wondered what to tell her. It wasn't really because Troy and Gabriella were more talented…

"Kelsi!" Came Sharpay's shrill tone. Kelsi jumped and hit a wrong key during her song. She looked up to see a frazzled looking Sharpay and a disheartened Ryan. Ryan also seemed mildly embarrassed.

"Yes?"

"Shar, maybe we-"

"Shut up, Ryan!" she said as she lifted a hand to silence him. He rolled his eyes and let her continue, "Kelsi, what were you thinking? They're going to murder your show!"

"No, they won't," Kelsi said softly as she began to play again.

"Of course they will. They're amateurs," Sharpay said condescendingly.

Kelsi stopped playing and gave Sharpay a stern look, "They won't."

Sharpay grunted frustratedly, "Whatever!"

The blonde quickly turned on her heels and exited the room. Kelsi felt Ryan stay behind and watch her thoughtfully.

"Kelsi?"

"Yes?" She asked nervously.

"Why _did_ you help them?"

Ryan's tone was polite and genuinely curious, and Kelsi felt she could answer honestly.

She took a deep breath, "It has to do with respect."

"Respect?" He asked in confusion as he approached the piano.

"Respect for my music and my vision. Troy and Gabriella understand that and…care about what I want for the show," She told him as she continued to play.

"I care," He answered honestly.

She believed him. She had never really gotten too terribly close to Ryan before then again she'd never gotten too terribly close to anyone. She may not know him well but even she could hear the sincerity in his voice, and she had a suspicion there was more Ryan Evans than what he showed people.

"I'm sure _you_ do, but Sharpay doesn't. That's the problem. I can tell you're a good guy Ryan, but…"

"But what?" He asked hopelessly. He already knew instinctively what she was going to say.

"You tend to do whatever _she_ wants to do whether you agree or not I mean I know I do it too. Sharpay's the kind of person that's difficult to say no to…"

Ryan nodded and interrupted her, "I get it."

Kelsi sighed, "I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, you were just being honest," He said with a weak smile, "You're right though. _Everyone_ gives in to Sharpay. It's the only way to keep the peace."

"Well, maybe being an understudy is just the way to help Sharpay," Kelsi said hopefully.

Ryan chuckled bitterly, "I doubt it. I mean it might work for a little while, but eventually she'll go back to the way she was."

Kelsi decided a change of subject was in order.

"Nice hat," She said as she lifted her hands from the keys to motion to his fedora.

"Yours isn't bad either," He said with a grin as he flicked the top of her newsboy cap.

"Hey Kelsi, I thought I would find you here," Gabriella said as she walked through the door. She didn't notice Ryan until she was standing right next to him. "Hi Ryan."

He nodded and waved to her before silently exiting. Kelsi watched him go with slight disappointment. She had been hoping to talk with him a little longer.

"Kelsi?" Gabriella asked as she gave her a concerned look, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," She said with a slight blush, "I'm fine, what was your question?"

"It's about Minnie's song just before the end of act one…"

"Can we discuss it on the way to homeroom?" Kelsi asked as she glanced at her watch and gather her things.

"Of course," Gabriella said warmly.

As they walked Kelsi answered all of Gabriella's questions about the character of Minnie. Kelsi had written "Twinkle Town" last summer, and had focused it around the characters Minnie and Arnold. Who were two people who had been child hood friends, but were separated by moving from town to town over the years. Both grow up and move to New York in search of fame on the Broadway stage. They run into each other on an audition and start to reconnect. Arnold gets a new agent named Ichabod who is a good friend but afraid that Minnie is distracted his client from his work. The show wasn't two deep. It was just fun or at least Kelsi thought it was. Gabriella and Troy were Minnie and Arnold. Ryan had been cast as Ichabod and understudy for Arnold. Sharpay had been cast as Minnie's older sister, Jenny, and understudy for Minnie. Mrs. Darbus had immediately loved it which led her to where she was now. She was actually friends with Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth not to mention the rest of the basketball team. She'd gone to school with most of them since preschool and she was _just now_ getting to know them.

"Morning, Small Person," Chad said with a grin as she entered the room.

"I thought my nickname was Play Maker?" She asked him in confusion.

"Officially it is your nickname, but unofficially it's Small Person," He said with a wink.

She chuckled and shook her head at him.

"Hi Kelsi," She heard Jason say as she sat down at her usual desk. She smiled at him and waved in return.

She turned to face the front where Mrs. Darbus had suddenly appeared.

Chad might call her Small Person, but she certainly didn't feel like one…not any more at least. All of her life she'd been an observer, but now she was a participant.

And she didn't mind one bit.

* * *

_ I plan to make this a drabble series. It might turn into a chapter fic...I'm not sure. I really just want to bridge the gap between HSM and HSM2 that's my ultimate goal...so whether that happens in chapters or in drabbles all that matters is that it happens, lol._


	2. Who Better Than Me?

Small Person

By angellwings

* * *

**Who Better Than Me?**

* * *

Sharpay and Ryan were the supporting roles yet rehearsals were still difficult. Sharpay was playing Gabriella's sister and Ryan was playing Troy's best friend and agent. They actually did have a song together, but it wasn't a traditional duet. This duet was very "Summer Nights" like. Ichabod (Ryan's Character who was known as Ick through most of the show) sang to the audience about how Minnie might be ruining Arnold's career and Ick's as well while Jenny sang about how happy she was for her sister and this potential new relationship. Jenny also had a romantic plot line of her own with a character named Rob (who was Jenny's husband of six years). They both sounded amazing, but Sharpay didn't feel the number was quite big enough for her. Kelsi sighed and ran a hand through her hair as Sharpay instructed the Orchestra to play in double time.

"Shar," She heard Ryan say as his sister chatted.

"If we do that, Ry, then you'll need to be at that mark by the last line of the verse and NOT the first line of the chorus-"

"Shar…"

"That way we both have enough time to realize what's-"

"Sharpay!"

"What Ryan? You don't have to yell you know."

He rolled his eyes and sighed, "I think the number is wonderful just like it is…"

"Ryan please, be serious," Sharpay said.

"I am. Kelsi's arrangement is genius…just leave it alone."

"What?"

"I don't think Kelsi needs your help with the show. She knows what she wants. She's got it all under control," Ryan told his sister firmly.

"Whatever! Do what you want! What do I know?" Sharpay yelled angrily as she marched off stage.

Kelsi flashed Ryan a bright smile, "Thank you."

He gave her a small smile and shrugged, "No problem."

Kelsi stared after him as he left and was suddenly hit with inspiration. She knew how to make the scene transitions smoother. She needed to make one of the characters constantly in the know and to be the guy that helps the conflict resolution to happen. The character of Ick was perfect for that, and all she need to do for that to work was to write five more scenes and a new musical number. Luckily the next two blocks on her schedule were Biology and Lunch. She collected her things and headed for the practice room.

* * *

Ryan walked into lunch and immediately felt like he wanted to leave. Sharpay was waving him over, but he didn't want to go. Instead he looked around for Kelsi, and when he couldn't find her he knew exactly where she would be. So he turned around and headed for the practice room. He suddenly felt like talking to her.

As he opened the door to the practice room he heard an unfamiliar upbeat tune. Kelsi turned curiously when the door closed behind him.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked.

"Not at all," She said brightly. "I'm actually glad you came by!"

"You are?"

"I need you to sing something for me," She told him as she returned her gaze to the sheet music in front of her.

"Sing what?"

"I've given Ick another number in the show," She told him as she handed him the music.

"You have?" He asked in shock.

"The show needed a character that would bring everything together at the end and well…Ick is the best character for that," Kelsi told him. "So, would you sing it for me?"

He nodded, "Of course."

"Great! Just sing the first two verses for right now. You'll need Troy for the rest of the song," She told him as she began to play.

"_You're one of a kind, I can't explain it.  
You're kind of cool, in a wonderful way.  
Though you're weird, you can make it.  
And who better than me to teach you?  
Who better than me to set you on your way?_

_This could take some hangin' in there,  
Though with persuasion I can take you on up.  
Make you shine up beside the others.  
And who better than me to lead you?  
Who better than me to take you all the way?_"

Ryan smiled brightly as he finished the second verse, "When did you write this?"

She blushed slightly, "During biology."

Ryan chuckled softly at her before he realized something, "Wait, you wrote this during Biology? In _forty_ minutes?"

"Yes," She answered quietly.

"Kelsi…this is amazing," He told her.

"You really like it?" She asked nervously.

"I love it," He said as he looked through the rest of the music.

"Good, let's hope Troy likes it as well. I'm gonna go get him real quickly. I'll be right back," Kelsi said as she rushed out of the room and down the hall.

Ryan still couldn't believe she'd written this entire song in forty minutes. Her talent would never cease to amaze him.

* * *

_So the song is from "Tarzan: the Broadway Musical" which wasn't that bad of a show, but it wasn't that great either. The best part about it for me was the music (most specifically the song "Who Better than Me" which you have just read a sample of). Anyway, I figure I'll do the HSM universe a service by having Kelsi write "Who Better Than Me" instead of Phil Collins (who actually wrote it) and just go ahead and say that "Tarzan: the Broadway Musical" never came to be in that universe. _

_Besides, I would like to imagine Lucas Grabeel singing that song as I am in love with his voice, lol._

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings _


	3. The Basics

Small Person

By angellwings

* * *

**The Basics**

* * *

Kelsi glanced around the auditorium with a bored expression. This was the first after school rehearsal and from now on after school rehearsals would be all they had. Mrs. Darbus had decided she preferred after school rehearsals to free period rehearsals. Kelsi, as usual, was there early. She yawned and then jumped in surprise when Ryan plopped himself down beside her on the piano bench.

"Hi," He said with a chuckle at her reaction.

"Hi," She responded with a nervous chuckle of her own.

"So, I came to a conclusion the other day," Ryan told her.

"You did?" Kelsi asked as she wondered where this was going.

"Yes, and I decided that you and I barely know anything about each other," Ryan told her. "I also decided that we would change that."

This time she grinned, "Oh you did, did you?"

"Yes I did, did I," He smirked. "We're going to start with the Basic stats. First question: what is your full name? Middle name included."

"Kelsi Mariah Nielson," She told him hesitantly.

He nodded, "Pretty."

"And yourself?" She asked him curiously.

"Ryan Harrison Evans…the third," He said with a slight grimace as he said the last part.

"You don't sound too happy about that," Kelsi said observantly.

"Well, it's just that it's my father's name and my grandfather's name and-"

"It's a lot of pressure," She finished for him.

"Yeah," Ryan said with slight surprise, "My dad's a business man through and through and he took over the business from my grandfather so I suppose he expects me to do the same. At least he's okay with me being involved in theatre more importantly musicals. I just don't know if he'd like it too much if I made it my career. I mean what if he thinks that theatre is an okay extra-curricular just not a wise career?"

She nodded in understanding, "Mariah is a family name, you know."

"It is?" He asked curiously.

"It was my great grandmother's first name, and then it became a traditional middle name for the women on my mom's side of the family. My grandmother was the first professional actress to come from my family," She told him.

"The first?" He asked.

"Yes, my grandmother was an actress and my mother was an actress. All of them had very successful careers on the stage. My grandmother was even nominated for a Tony once, but I'm very much a backstage person and I have no desire to be onstage. No, I'd much rather be in the orchestra pit, thank you very much. But, again, I have no idea how my parents feel about that," Kelsi told him.

Ryan nodded, "Sounds familiar."

She chuckled, "You know, if we actually talked to them we might be able to stop stressing about it. For all we know our parents could be completely supportive."

"Or completely unsupportive," Ryan agreed nervously.

"You know what let's go on to the next question," Kelsi said with a gulp.

Ryan chuckled, "Birthday?"

"July thirty-first, 1991," She told him.

"So, you turn 17 this summer?" He asked.

"Yep, and your birthday?"

"November 23, 1990," He replied.

"You're already 17?" She asked in surprise.

"Yes, Sharpay and I were very slow kids," He said with serious straight face.

"Oh," Kelsi answered awkwardly.

Ryan laughed loudly, "I'm just kidding, Kels."

Her eyes went wide and she lightly smacked his shoulder, "That was not funny."

"I beg to differ," He smirked.

She rolled her eyes playfully, "Seriously, shouldn't you be a grade above all of us?"

"Funny thing about the school system, the later in the calendar year your birthday is later they let you start in school. So, since mine and Shar's birthday is in November we weren't allowed to start Kindergarten until 1995," He told her with a grin.

Kelsi nodded. She opened her mouth to ask something else, but Mrs. Darbus entered the room before she could speak.

Ryan smiled at her, "Well, there's Darbus. I guess we'll continue this tomorrow?"

She smiled and nodded again.

"Good, tomorrow's topic: Favorites," Ryan said with a wink as he made his way back to his seat.

Kelsi straightened up and readied herself to play the first number Mrs. Darbus decided to work on. She hadn't realized she and Ryan had been talking for as long as they had. She couldn't help but think about where the discussion would lead them tomorrow.


	4. Home Economics

**Home Economics**

* * *

Kelsi walked into her first period class after home room, and immediately noticed Jason and Zeke waving her over to their kitchenette.

"Hey, Small Person," Chad greeted her with a grin as she set her book bag down underneath the counter.

"Hey there, fluffy," Kelsi said with a smirk as she pointedly glanced at Chad's curls.

"Fluffy? Are the boys frizzing out?" Chad asked worriedly as he pulled out a ladle and studied his hair in the reflection. Zeke snatched the ladle from his hands.

"Ladles are not mirrors, man," Zeke said as he placed the large spoon back into the drawer.

"Here you go, Kels," Jason said with a smile as he handed her an apron.

"Thanks," She said brightly. Since callbacks Home Economics had been a completely different class for her. She actually enjoyed it. She'd never worked with any of these guys in this class before then. There was always some random cheerleader or wannabe jock in the spot she was in now. But that day when they all came together to form a plan to thwart Sharpay had changed everything Kelsi had learned about her place in high school.

"Alright class," Mrs. Miller said from the front of the room. "Today we are going to try our hand at making Chocolate Chip Cookies…from scratch."

Zeke grinned, "Piece of cake."

"No, dude, we're making cookies," Jason told him with a furrowed brow.

Kelsi chuckled and patted Jason's shoulder, "It's an expression, Jason."

"Ohhh, right," He said with a nod.

"Alright, Master Chef, what do you need from us?" Chad asked as he reluctantly slipped on his ruffled, purple apron.

"Stand back and hand me the appropriate ingredients," Zeke announced.

"Aye, aye, Captain," Kelsi said with a grin.

Zeke chuckled and shook his head at her.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing, you've just come a long way that's all," He said.

"What's that supposed to mean? Chad, what does he mean?" Kelsi asked.

"C'mon you have to have noticed. You're not the same Kelsi anymore. The first day we all worked together in this class you barely spoke one word," Chad told her.

"And now you're joking with us," Zeke told her.

"And clarifying things for Jason," Chad added with a smirk.

"Hey!" Jason cried in protest.

"Dude, don't even try. You know it's true," Zeke said sympathetically.

"Yeah, okay," Jason admitted in defeat.

"You've busted out of that shell, Kels. It's a good thing," Chad said with a smile.

"Now, let's get back to these cookies," Zeke said as they all focused back on their assignment.

Kelsi smiled as they began to work. They were right. She was definitely more outgoing than she had been. These guys were part of that reason. She honestly saw them more than she did Troy or Gabriella. They were all so busy at rehearsals there wasn't much time to chat. She never really saw Taylor or Martha that much either. Out of their group she was closest to these three guys which had been a new experience for her. She's never really had that many female friends let alone any guy friends.

She was definitely a very different Kelsi.

* * *

_I realized that Small Person has been mostly Ryelsi, lol. And that wasn't my intention, ha ha. So I wrote this snippet as a way of showcasing Kelsi's other new friendships. _


	5. Girl Lunch

**Girl Lunch**

* * *

Kelsi headed up toward the drama club table when a hand touched her shoulder. Kelsi turned to see Taylor smiling at her.

"Hey, Taylor, what do you need?"

"You're eating lunch with Gabriella and me today," Taylor said as she looped her arm through Kelsi and led her in the opposite direction.

"I am?"

"Yes, and Martha is as well," Taylor said as they approached a table where Gabriella and Martha were seated. "We thought since we've all been so busy lately that we could use a girl lunch."

Kelsi and Taylor sat down and Martha leaned toward Kelsi and motioned toward the table where Chad and Troy sat with the basketball team, "Notice the sullen looks of the boyfriends."

Kelsi chuckled and glanced back at the drama club table. Ryan caught her eye quickly and flashed a smile and a wave. She smiled and waved back.

"Kels? Earth to Kelsi?" Gabriella said as she waved her hand in front of Kelsi's face.

"Huh?"

"I asked if we had rehearsal today," Gabriella said as her gaze drifted up toward Ryan as well. She smirked when she realized who Kelsi had been distracted by.

"Um, yes, all four leads have music and choreography rehearsal today," Kelsi rattled off automatically.

"Oh, Gabriella, Chad and I talked about you and Troy going on a double date with us this weekend..."

Martha cleared her throat and Kelsi shook her head.

"What?" Taylor asked curiously.

"Can we have a girl lunch with OUT boyfriend talk?" Martha asked with a smirk.

"Well, of course we can. We're not that obsessed," Taylor said haughtily.

Kelsi scoffed, "I dare the both of you to go the entire 25 minutes of lunch with OUT mentioning Chad or Troy from here on out."

"Dare accepted," Gabriella said with determination.

"We just need to get you two some boyfriends, and then we wouldn't have this problem," Taylor said with a grin.

"Oo, I know who we could hook Kelsi up with!" Gabriella said in an excited stage-whisper.

Kelsi looked shocked, "You do?"

"So do I," Taylor smirked.

"Me too," Martha said with a secretive smile at Kelsi.

"Okay, what do you guys know that I don't?"

"Oh, nothing, just that a certain Wildcat has a crush on you," Gabriella said with a smile.

"Gabriella! We weren't supposed to say anything!" Taylor scolded.

"Wait, what?" Kelsi asked in shock, "Who?"

Martha waited for Taylor or Gabriella to say something, and when they didn't she did. "It's Jason."

"Jason? No…"

"Yeah, Kels, Jason," Martha told her excitedly.

"But…he's my friend," She said contemplatively.

"And you would rather him be your enemy?" Taylor asked with a chuckle.

"No, it's just…he really has feelings for me?" Kelsi asked.

"Mmhmm, that's what Tro—I heard. That's what I heard," Gabriella said as she caught herself about to mention Troy.

"So, what happens if I don't have feelings for him?" Kelsi asked with a sigh.

"You don't?"

"No—I mean I don't think I do. He's a nice guy and all, but that's it."

"You don't THINK you have feelings for him? So you don't know?" Martha asked.

"I've never really thought about it. I mean he's Jason," Kelsi said.

"Well, you'll never know if you don't give it a shot, Kelsi," Taylor told her seriously.

Kelsi sighed, "What if it gets awkward? I mean I just STARTED making friends…I can't afford to start losing them already."

"Hey, Kels?" Came a voice from behind her.

Kelsi turned around with wide eyes, "Jason?"

"Listen, Zeke and I are gonna get together tomorrow night to watch the movie version of that book we're reading in English," He said as he nervously shuffled his feet.

"Pride and Prejudice?" She clarified with a small smile.

"That's the one. Do you want to join us?" He asked.

"Um, sure." She answered hesitantly.

"Cool, my house at 6 tomorrow night," He said brightly.

She nodded and turned back to the girls with a wide-eyed look.

"Zeke will probably pull out tomorrow morning," Martha smirked.

"Well, if that's the case then the three of you better be at my house tomorrow after school. If I'm going on a date I need to know what to wear," Kelsi said with a shake of her head.

"Oh, we will SO be there," Taylor said excitedly.

* * *

_Thanks go out to Penny for the "Girl Lunch" inspiration. _

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings_

* * *


	6. Favorites

* * *

**Favorites**

* * *

Kelsi's bag hit the stage with a thump. She sat down on the piano bench and situated her sheet music. It would just be Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan, and herself at rehearsals today. They would be working on all of the music for the leads, and then Ryan would be working with them on choreography. They all knew the music pretty well so Kelsi only planned on working with each of them as long as they felt they needed it. She definitely wanted to go over it a few times to make sure the theme of each song was understood though. If the actors didn't get it then the audience definitely wouldn't get it.

Ryan sat down beside her on the piano bench, and this time she didn't jump.

"Hi," She said with a smile.

"Hey, so I believe I said we would be talking about Favorites today?" Ryan asked with a grin.

"You certainly did."

"Perfect, okay, favorite movie?" Ryan asked.

"Singing in the Rain," She told him.

"Good choice, and probably the absolute CLASSIC musical."

"And you?"

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers mostly because I want to be in it one day," He chuckled.

She laughed, "Would you be Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frankincense, or Gideon?"

"Benjamin or Gideon probably," Ryan decided.

"Aw, those are my two favorites of the brothers," Kelsi told him excitedly.

"Good to know," Ryan said with a nod. "That way if I see a short, skinny, red-headed man I'll send him your way."

"Oh please don't. I have enough people trying to send guys my way," She said with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm sorry, but…huh?" Ryan asked in confusion.

"Apparently the basketball team and their girlfriends have decided to set me up with Jason," Kelsi answered with a sigh.

"Jason? Really?"

"That's what I said," Kelsi told him honestly. "I can't really see myself and Jason together, but if I don't give it chance I'll never know or at least that's what Taylor told me."

Ryan didn't exactly know how to react to this news. Sure, he certainly had a soft spot for Kelsi, but he didn't have feelings for her. He should be perfectly fine with her dating Jason. _Should_ be, but he wasn't. Not that he didn't like Jason. He didn't have anything against the guy at all, but he and Kelsi have so _little_ in common. If they did date then he didn't see it lasting for very long. Ryan wanted to voice this opinion, and he might have if Darbus hadn't walked into the auditorium at exactly that moment.

"Alright, my little thespians, let's get to work!"

* * *

Ryan planned on speaking to Kelsi after rehearsals were over, but as he turned to tell Troy and Gabriella that they were done with choreography for the day he realized that wouldn't be happening. Jason was standing by the piano patiently waiting for Kelsi to be done accompanying rehearsals.

Kelsi looked up and smiled, "Hi, Jason, what's up?"

"Well, Zeke and Chad and I just finished up baseball practice, and I just came by to let you know that Zeke can't come. But I hope you're still coming?"

She nodded, "I'll be there."

"Good. Oh, do you have rehearsal tomorrow?"

"Yes, and just about every other day until the show," Kelsi grinned.

"We've got practice tomorrow as well. If you want we could just go straight to my house from the school," He said. "I figured it would be easier for you that way since you don't have a car."

"Um, yeah, that sounds great. Thanks," Kelsi told him.

"Sweet, then I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Kels!" Jason said as he left the auditorium. Kelsi sighed and then gulped nervously.

"I guess I won't need the girls to help me decide what to wear," She mumbled to herself as she packed up her stuff.


	7. The Date

**

* * *

**

The Date

* * *

Kelsi was a having a surprisingly good time with Jason. That's not to say that she had any inkling of romantic feelings for him, but she was having fun. Jason had been mocking the movie the entire time they were watching it, and while Kelsi liked the movie she had to admit that Jason's impersonations were very funny.

She shook her head and laughed as he made fun of Mr. Darcy.

"Seriously? What do girls like about this Mr. Darcy guy? Is it just because he has an accent?" Jason asked.

"We like him because he risked his entire reputation to help her and didn't really care whether or not he got the credit for it. It's incredibly romantic," Kelsi grinned.

Jason sighed. He wasn't the smartest guy, but even he could tell Kelsi wasn't into him, "Unlike what's going on with us, right?"

Kelsi's eyes widened. She hadn't been expecting that, "You're a nice guy, Jason. You really are, but--"

"You're not feeling it," Jason said with a nod. "I understand. You can't help that, but you also can't blame a guy for trying, can you?"

She smiled gently at him, "No, you can't."

"Good, can I turn this off now? Put in something better," He asked.

She laughed, "Feel free."

"Sweet, looks like we're watching Jaws," Jason told her excitedly.

Kelsi couldn't believe how Jason was reacting to this. He wasn't being awkward or treating her like she had mortally wounded him.

"This doesn't bother you?" She asked him in confusion.

"Well, I'm not happy about it, but like I said…it's not your fault," He said with a shrug. "I like you, Kelsi, and whether or not anything happens with us I still want to be your friend."

He stood up and walked over to the cabinet of movies on the other side of the room.

"That is a lot of movies," Kelsi told him with in shock.

He blushed slightly, "I, um, I really like movies."

"I can tell," She chuckled. She looked around the room and noticed a video camera sitting on top of a tripod in the corner. "Is that yours?"

His blushed intensified but he didn't say anything.

"I'll take that as a yes," She chuckled. "Do you like to film home movies and stuff?"

He cleared his throat, "Not exactly. My older brother and I, um, make our own short films occasionally. Just for a laugh."

She smiled brightly at him, "Seriously? That's…awesome. Do the guys know?"

"You mean Troy and Chad and everybody? No," Jason admitted.

She furrowed her brow, "Why not?"

"I just don't feel comfortable telling them. I know Troy admitted the singing thing, and Zeke with his baking, but…I don't know," Jason told her with a sigh.

"You should tell them," She encouraged him. "You might even talk them into _being_ in a short film."

He shook his head, "I don't know…"

"Trust me, I think we're all past the "Status Quo" thing, Jason."

"You think?" He asked hopefully.

She nodded, "I'm fairly certain they would think the short film thing was cool."

"Do you…want to see one?" He asked hesitantly.

She smiled and nodded, "Definitely."

Now that she wasn't worried about making things awkward between them she was a lot more relaxed. She was relieved that Jason still wanted to be friends. She honestly thought he was a great guy, and the way he accepted this situation proved it.

* * *

_The inspiration for Jason's hobby came from "Work this Out". He sang a line about making some "Motion Pictures" and I decided that I would add that to his character and not just let that be a random line he sang in the movie. I think Jason might be slightly deeper than what we see, and I may not like him with Kelsi but I do find him endearing. Anyway, just thought I would share so you all don't think the short films thing came out of no where. _

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings_


	8. Friday

* * *

**Friday**

* * *

Kelsi was surprised to find Taylor, Gabriella, and Martha waiting for in the music room when she arrived the next morning.

"What in the world are you all doing here?"

"We came to ask about the date," Martha said as if it were obvious.

Kelsi sighed and shook her head, "It was okay."

"Okay? Just okay?" Gabriella asked.

"There's absolutely nothing romantic in store for me and Jason Cross, and he knows that," Kelsi told them as she made her way to the piano bench.

Taylor winced, "So today's going to be awkward then?"

"I don't know. He seemed to take it extremely well last night. So I don't think it will be awkward at all," Kelsi said honestly.

"I guess we'll find out in homeroom," Martha said.

"You joined A.V. Club?" They heard a loud voice ask in shock.

Kelsi craned her neck and noticed Chad and Jason standing outside of the room. She grinned.

"Yeah, man, A.V. Club. They need some one who knows how to work the editing programs on the computers in the lab," Jason told him with confidence.

"And YOU know how to do that?" Troy asked in an impressed tone.

"I have the software on my computer at home. I use it all the time," He said with a shrug.

"Good for you, man," Zeke said encouragingly. "So you make short films and stuff?"

The voices faded as they traveled past the music room and down the hall. The girls looked shocked and turned to Kelsi.

"Did you do that?" Taylor asked with a smirk.

"Do what?" Kelsi asked cluelessly.

"Jason just admitted to being into something besides basketball, Kels. I have a feeling you had something to do with that," Taylor clarified.

"Well, the subject did come up," She grinned.

* * *

Kelsi entered homeroom a little early that morning. She wasn't able to get any practice done thanks to the girls chatting about Jason's newly exposed hobby, and had decided to give up and head to homeroom. She sat down just before Jason entered the room. He made a pitt-stop by her desk.

"Hey, Kels, thanks for the talk last night," He told her with a smile.

"No problem, Jason, anytime," She said brightly.

"So I guess you've heard about the A.V. club right?" He asked hopefully.

"I did, that's great! And the guys seem to be taking it really well," She told him.

"Chad was a little shocked, but Troy and Zeke didn't seem so surprised. All things considered it went well," He told her with a nod as he leaned a hand on her desk. Ryan passed the pair and cast them curious glances as he and his twin made their way to their seats.

"I'm happy for you, Jase," She smiled.

Jason smiled warmly at her and leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek. Kelsi looked shocked as she felt his lips quickly graze her cheek. She still didn't feel anything romantic for him, but no boy had EVER kissed her before. Not even on the cheek.

"What was that for?" She asked him.

"For being a good friend," He told her with a soft smile. "People don't appreciate you enough, Kels."

And with that Jason retreated to his seat in the back of the classroom.

Kelsi blushed from the attention she was now getting. There were more people in the room at the moment than she initially though, and they were all staring at her curiously.

* * *

Kelsi laughed as she and Zeke watched Jason and Chad struggle with unrolling the pre-made crescent dough. Today they were making a Sausage roll in their Home Economics class. They were supposed to flatten the dough into a rectangle, cook the sausage, mix in the cream cheese, and then pour the sausage and crème cheese onto the dough and fold the dough around it. They would then bake it, and have a delicious breakfast dish.

Zeke and Kelsi were working on the sausage and cream cheese while Jason and Chad worked on the dough.

"Should we tell them where the rolling pin is?" Kelsi smirked.

"Nah, they're doing okay with that spatula. We'll let them discover the rolling pin on their own," Zeke chuckled. "So, are you and Jason okay?"

She nodded, "We're fine. In fact, I might feel even closer to him now than I did before, but only as a friend."

He nodded, "That's the impression I got from Jason. Thanks for pushing him to tell us about the short films thing, by the way."

"His films are really good. People deserve to see his talent," She smiled as she set the cream cheese out to thaw.

"You know, he told us he was looking into film schools this morning," Zeke informed her. "That's the first time I've heard him talk about life after East High."

"Guys! How the heck are we supposed to flatten this LUMP?" Chad asked in frustration.

Jason threw the now broken spatula in the trash, "That thing was NO help."

Kelsi giggled and pulled the rolling pin out of one of the drawers, "Try this, boys."

"A rolling pin! Why didn't I think of that?" Chad said with a shake of his head.

"Maybe because your head is ninety percent curls?" Kelsi asked sarcastically.

"Hilarious, Nielson, hilarious," Chad deadpanned.

* * *

Ryan caught his breath as he finally made it to Kelsi's locker. He wanted to hear from her how things went with Jason. He'd heard rumors about the two of them, but he wanted to hear it straight from Kelsi. So when the bell rang he made his mission to get to Kelsi's locker before she did in order to make sure he saw her. Luckily her locker was only a few lockers down from his sister so he could pretend to be waiting on Sharpay and NOT let Kelsi know that he had semi-stalked her. He leaned against the lockers in between Kelsi's plain locker and his sister's hot pink one, and tried to look as if he'd been there for several minutes.

Kelsi came around the corner and smiled when she saw him.

"Hi, Ryan," She said cheerfully.

"Hey, Kels, so how did—"

"Kelsi! You have to help me!" Zeke called as he jogged toward her. He was so caught up in pleading that he didn't notice Ryan.

"Help you what?" She asked warily before flashing Ryan an apologetic look.

"I need a way to get Sharpay's attention, and well…you ARE a girl," Zeke said desperately.

Kelsi rolled her eyes playfully, "Well, what an astute observation, Baker Boy. Why don't you just make her cookies like you usually do? She's go pretty crazy over them."

"Yeah, for like 3 hours, and then I'm forgotten. I need a baked good with more staying power," He said thoughtfully. Ryan cleared his throat.

"You might try double fudge brownies. Our grandmother makes them and they're Shar's favorite," Ryan told him.

"Really?" He asked with wide eyed excitement.

"Really," Ryan told him with a smile.

"Thanks man!" Zeke called as he ran down the hall.

Kelsi chuckled, "Sorry, about that…the Wildcats can be a little one-track minded sometimes…"

"You seem to be becoming very good friends with them," Ryan said observantly.

"They treat me like a real person, you know?" She said with a sigh. "The Drama Club, present company excluded of course, has never really treated me like I belonged, and the Wildcats do. I mean out of all the members of the Drama Club you're the only one I consider to be my friend."

A smile spread across his face and his eyes widened, "I am?"

She smiled softly at him, "You don't boss me around and expect me to drop everything for a private rehearsal the way Sharpay and Mrs. Darbus do, and you actually talk to me when there AREN'T any auditions. Not to mention you're the only one that's actually taken the time to get to know me." She shrugged and looked down at the floor as a light flush filled her cheeks, "So, yes, I consider you to be a friend. A good friend."

The bell suddenly rang and Kelsi's head jerked up.

"Oh no, I'm late! I gotta go," She said as she finished grabbing a folder out of her locker and shut the door.

"Late for what? It's Free Period?" He asked in disappointment.

"Troy asked me to help him out with his big solo number," She told him. "But I'll talk to you later?"

He nodded.

"Great, Bye Ryan!" She called as she rushed down the hallway to the music room.

He waved after her and couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. She considered him a friend. It had been a long time since he had been friends with anyone other than Sharpay. This was turning out to be a pretty amazing Friday after all. Ryan had woken up with a feeling of dread for a reason that was still unknown to him, but now he watched Kelsi go with a warm feeling growing in his chest. He had a friend that he WASN'T related to. It was nice.

So nice that he had completely forgotten the reason he stopped by Kelsi's locker in the first place.


	9. Warming Up

* * *

**Warming Up**

* * *

Kelsi gave Gabriella a sympathetic look, "You're still just under pitch on that last note, Gabi."

"I know," She sighed. "I just can't quite get there. It's so high."

There were two weeks until technical rehearsals began and Gabriella was still having trouble with Minnie and Jenny's duet. Kelsi patted her friend's knee as Sharpay huffed and studied her neatly manicured nails.

"Are you warming up?" Sharpay asked without glancing in Gabriella's direction.

"Warming up?" Gabriella asked in confusion.

"You really should warm up before rehearsals and especially performances. It makes notes like those easier to hit," Sharpay offered with a blank expression.

Kelsi was in shock. Sharpay was giving Gabriella advice. Advice that was actually credible.

"I don't know what warming up requires," Gabriella said as she gave Kelsi a questioning glance.

"I'll show you," Sharpay offered harshly as she stood up. "Kelsi the usual warm-ups."

Kelsi rolled her eyes at the command but obliged the blonde, and began playing some of Sharpay's favorite warm-ups. After several scales, a few tongue twister warm ups (which included Kelsi's favorite entitled "Mommy Made Me Mash my M&Ms"), and Sharpay's classic "Mah!" warm-up she moved to the side and motioned for Gabriella to try them. Gabriella did them all in the same order as Sharpay. It took her longer because she was not as familiar with them, but the next time they tried the duet Gabriella hit that high note perfectly.

"Wow," Gabriella said in shock. "I did it! Thanks so much, Sharpay!"

Gabriella hugged the blonde quickly. Sharpay scowled, brushed off her arms as if something unclean had touched her, flipped her hair back over her shoulder, and stalked off stage. Gabriella chuckled and watched her go.

"I've got to go, Kels. Troy's waiting for me in the gym, but I'll see you at rehearsal tomorrow!" Gabriella called as she quickly gathered her things and left the auditorium.

Kelsi was still in shock over Sharpay actually _helping_ Gabriella improve. There were now two weeks until tech rehearsals which meant they had been working on the show for a month and a half now, and there was only one month left until Twinkle Town opened. If Gabriella actually used those warm ups she would be more than ready for the show.

* * *

_HSM3 is coming out this friday and my bunnies are going nuts...I've already got the next update written...I think y'all will like it..._

_This one is pretty much just a way to transition into a time jump in the story line._

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings_


	10. Choreography

* * *

**Choreography**

* * *

"Hey, Kels," Troy said with a smile as he and Gabriella entered the auditorium hand-in-hand.

"Hi, guys," She greeted as she spread her sheet music out in front of her.

"Talked to Ryan lately? We're supposed to have rehearsal today, but I haven't talked to him," Troy asked.

"I think he and Sharpay have a meeting with Mrs. Darbus right now. They should be done any minute though," Kelsi said with a nod.

Right on cue, the Evans twins and Mrs. Darbus entered the auditorium from Stage Left.

"Alright, good, I see you're all here. Sharpay you may go," Mrs. Darbus said as she realized Sharpay was still with them. "Today's rehearsal is for Arnold and Minnie."

Sharpay huffed, crossed her arms over her chest and walked off stage.

"Alright, you four get to work. I'll be in the audience finishing up our T-shirt orders for the cast, and reviewing the Stage Crew volunteer list," Mrs. Darbus told them as she headed down the steps to the side of the stage and found a seat.

"Okay, so basically what I've got worked up for you guys is a basic waltz," Ryan told them. "With a few twists here and there. So show me how you would slow dance."

Troy and Gabriella obliged him. Gabriella placed her arms on Troy's shoulders and he placed his on her waist. Ryan nodded, "Okay, that's basically correct. For the waltz you should be holding her right hand."

Ryan nodded again as they corrected their position, "Okay, the basic waltz is just 1…2-3."

He demonstrated with his own feet as he counted, and then asked them to try it. He noticed Gabriella leading more than Troy and that Troy was nearly tripping over his own feet. He chuckled softly and sympathetically.

"You've got to take the lead here, Troy. For this to work you have to direct Gabriella across the floor. Let's try it again," Ryan said with a smile and this time he counted aloud for them. Troy was still having trouble. He looked as if he was afraid he would step on Gabriella. Ryan's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He needed to really demonstrate what he wanted. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Kelsi playing the accompaniment patiently.

"I've got an idea," Ryan said as he motioned for Troy and Gabriella to stop. "Kels? Could you give me a hand?"

Kelsi's head shot up, and her eyes widened, "A hand? A hand with what?"

He smiled softly, "The waltz. I need you to help me demonstrate."

Now she looked fearful, "I'm not so good with dancing."

"Just trust me, Kelsi," He said kindly.

She sighed and nodded to him as she came out from behind the piano. The two of them got into the same position as Troy and Gabriella, and Ryan counted the steps for Kelsi until she felt she had the hang of it. They slowly began to waltz around the stage. Ryan leading and Kelsi falling into step with him. Doing the step backwards was really difficult. She couldn't see where Ryan was taking them, but she trusted that he wouldn't crash into anything. This was what Ryan had been hoping would happen. Kelsi was moving in sync with him. She stepped only as far as he stepped, and allowed him to turn them in the circular patterns that the waltz required. It was the perfect example of how Troy and Gabriella should execute this dance.

Kelsi was actually enjoying herself. She didn't feel as nervous about this as she thought she would, and she knew it was because Ryan knew what he was doing. She wasn't going to embarrass herself if she just trusted him. The spinning and the steps made it feel like she and Ryan were the only ones in the room. She knew they weren't, but she couldn't help but get caught up in it.

Kelsi decided then and there that she did like dancing after all. She was very disappointed when the dance stopped, and Ryan turned back to Troy and Gabriella.

"Did that help?" Ryan asked them.

Gabriella grinned at the stunned expression on Kelsi's face, and looked up at Troy. He saw it too.

"That definitely cleared up a few things," Troy smirked as he tore his gaze away from Kelsi's flushed, moonstruck face and looked back at the male Evans twin.

"But could we see that just _one _more time?" Gabriella asked innocently with a small wink in Troy's direction. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. Kelsi was developing a crush on Ryan. She suppressed a girly "awww" that was dying to escape at the thought of this news.

"Sure," Ryan agreed, "Do you mind, Kelsi?"

"Me? Mind? Not at all," Kelsi answered dreamily as she and Ryan resumed their former position.

Gabriella shared a knowing smile with Troy. Kelsi was a goner, but Ryan seemed…oblivious. She had a feeling he was too focused on the choreography to really _see_ the look on Kelsi's face at that moment or even _hear_ the tone in her voice when she had answered him. Once Ryan felt they had demonstrated enough of the dance the pair stopped, and Gabriella noticed Kelsi suddenly looking very confused.

That's when Gabriella realized that this crush was not only news to her, but KELSI as well.

Kelsi shook her head of her confusing thoughts and daydreams before returning to the safety of her piano. The musician had never gotten so caught up in something that _wasn't_ a song. They could have kept on dancing for the rest of the afternoon and she wouldn't have objected at all. She wasn't sure what that feeling meant, but she had a hunch it definitely wasn't a platonic feeling.

_Crap_, Kelsi thought to herself. _I have feelings for Ryan Evans. When did __that__ happen?_

Sometime between Callbacks and now Kelsi had developed affection for East High's drama king. Yet another one of her crushes that would more than likely lead nowhere. She doubted Ryan was into mousy and meek girls like her. He seemed like the type that would be drawn to the Gabriella's of the world, and why not? Gabriella was smart, talented, AND beautiful.

Well, at least this crush would be good for her song writing muse.**

* * *

**

_The next update is done too, but I'm REALLY happy with this one...I hope you guys like it..._

_:D_


	11. Run Throughs

* * *

**Run Throughs**

* * *

Kelsi yawned as she sat at the piano in the auditorium. Mrs. Darbus had given her permission to use the auditorium in the mornings instead of the music room. Kelsi had been thrilled. She loved the feeling of an empty theatre. It was like it built up her anticipation for a time when those seats would be filled. She had just finished putting the finishing touches on the orchestrations for the East High's Student Orchestra that would be joining them for the last two weeks of rehearsals. She placed the score on top of the piano and placed a sticky not on top that reminded her to ask Mrs. Darbus to make enough copies for the entire orchestra. The original would be what she used while directing.

Directing. Kelsi smiled as she replayed that word in her head. She would finally be directing the music of an East High show. It was something she'd dreamed about since freshman year. She would be in the orchestra pit not as a member of the orchestra, but as their leader. Kelsi felt majorly accomplished at the moment.

"Hey, Playmaker," She heard Troy's voice say as he stood on the other side of the piano.

"Hello to you, fellow playmaker," Kelsi grinned.

"Oh, so I'm a playmaker too?"

"You're Troy Bolton…of course you're a playmaker," Kelsi told him as if he'd gone completely mental.

He laughed, "True."

"So what brings you to the auditorium so early?" She asked. It was 7:30 in the morning. Usually Troy didn't arrive until the last few seconds before the bell rang.

He shrugged, "I just don't want to mess this show up is all."

She smiled softly at him, "You won't mess it up."

"Oh come on, my dancing is clumsy at best and some of those notes I'm just scraping by on. Your songs might have been better off with Ryan singing them," He said with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, please! Troy, you're doing really well for your first show. I have complete faith that once that curtain opens and you feel the adrenaline from the audience you'll rock everyone to their core, my friend," She told him. "You know that rush you feel at a major game? Like the championship game. I'm sure you were nervous…"

"Try terrified," Troy smirked.

"But you did it right? Even though there was all this pressure and a million eyes on you—"

"You make it sound like the crowd makes the game miserable. If it wasn't for the crowd I don't think that game would have been as much fun. The fans in the bleacher make all of us take risks we wouldn't normally take…I mean I'm willing to say they're the reason we all played so well," Troy said seriously.

Kelsi grinned at him, "Exactly."

Troy's eyes widened as he understood her meaning, "I get it. It's the same with the audience at a show, right?"

Kelsi nodded, "They all _want_ the show to be good, and they want everyone to do well. The vibe of excitement coming off of the audience ALWAYS makes a show and a performer better. Does that help?"

He smiled, "Yeah, it does. It really does. Thanks, Kelsi."

"No problem, Troy."

Troy cleared his throat, "So, um, about that thing between you and Ryan the other day."

Kelsi's eyes widened, "What thing?"

He chuckled, "The waltz? I'm sure _you_ remember if I do."

Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, "Oh, that thing…"

"What _was_ that? The only person who didn't notice it was Ryan," Troy said with an easy smile.

"I-I don't know. He's a really good dancer…"

Was that really all the words she could muster up about that? Kelsi inwardly groaned at her inability to word what she was feeling.

Troy smirked knowingly, "That's why he's the choreographer."

She chuckled and blushed, "Shut up."

He laughed and snatched her hat off of her head. Troy didn't know why, but friendship came easily with Kelsi. He'd noticed that about everyone. Even Chad had become close to the girl. Chad had a hard time being friends with girls in general. He _knew_ that all of them felt protective of the shy composer. Chad, Zeke, and Jason more so than himself. Granted he was still protective of her just not to the extent that they were. _She's like the basketball team's little sister_, he thought in amusement.

He watched with a grin as Kelsi glared at him at grabbed at her hat. Troy made sure to pull it just out of her grasp every time. She stopped and narrowed her eyes.

"Will you give me back my hat?" She asked in mock annoyance.

"Nope, I want to see what happens when Kelsi Nielson doesn't wear a hat," Troy smirked as he stuck the newsboy cap in his back pocket.

"Seriously?" She asked in shock.

"Seriously," He grinned.

"I hate you," She said with another mock glare.

"No, you really don't," He laughed as he left the auditorium.

* * *

Kelsi felt the need to throw a bag on top of her head or at least cover it with her hands as she entered home room. Not wearing a hat felt so wrong. Her head was cold. Okay, so she didn't know if a person's head could actually get cold…but her _ears_ were a little chilly. She glared at Troy as he pulled her cap out of his pocket and placed it on his head. He sat next to her in home room so he was obviously gloating. She placed her bag at her desk and then attempted to snatch the hat off of his head. He promptly passed the hat to Chad.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Kelsi pouted as she lunged at Chad who then passed her hat to Taylor. Kelsi felt relief wash over her. Taylor would give her the hat back…wouldn't she? Or had Troy and Chad rubbed off on her?

"Taylor? My hat please?" Kelsi asked.

"I don't know, Kels. Most psychologists would say you hide behind your hats, and that it would be beneficial for you to go a day without one," Taylor told her thoughtfully.

"You think I need a psychologist?" Kelsi asked in shock.

"No, not really…but that's what one would say about your love of hats," Taylor smirked as she passed the hat back to Troy.

"Oh, come on, guys! My head feels very exposed at the moment!" She pouted.

She heard her friends chuckle at her as Mrs. Darbus walked into the room. Mrs. Darbus did a double take when she saw Kelsi's hatless head. Kelsi immediately made her way to her desk.

"Ms. Neilson, I see you are no longer striving to be invisible," Darbus said with a good natured grin. "As you all know our Run Throughs for the musical begin today. This will NOT involve costume changes we will simply see how well we know the show by performing both Act 1 and Act 2 consecutively. Next week we will start our technical rehearsals which will include two dress rehearsals. From here on out rehearsal attendance is mandatory for those wishing to perform come opening night."

Ryan glanced over at the group and smiled. Kelsi was right. The Wildcats did treat her better than the Drama Club. Even if they did steal her hat.

* * *

It was lunch time and Kelsi STILL didn't have her hat back. Kelsi sighed as she sat down at the Drama Club table. She really missed her hat.

Sharpay's eyes widened as she took in the hair on Kelsi's head.

"You know if you ever styled those strings on your head they might look kind of pretty," Sharpay told her honestly.

Kelsi's eyes widened, "Um…thank you?"

"You're welcome. If I were you I would try some Aveda products," Sharpay added with a hair flip.

Suddenly there was a hand in front of her face that was holding her hat. She gasped loudly, "MY HAT!"

She looked up from the hand to see Ryan smiling down at her, "I couldn't stand to see that pout of yours any longer."

She grabbed the hat and happily placed it back on her head, "Thank you SO much!"

He laughed, "No problem, Kels. If anybody understands the hat thing…it's me."

"How did you get it back?" She asked.

"I had Gabriella use the girlfriend factor against Troy," Ryan smirked.

Sharpay watched them interact with much interest. She knew the two of them had been talking a lot more than they used to, and Sharpay was actually surprised that it didn't bother her. To be honest she was thrilled that Ryan had a friend in Kelsi. She just didn't like that his friendship with Kelsi would more than likely pull him into the Wildcat circle at some point. She didn't need him deserting her too.

Should it ever come to that she would find a way to pull him back to her side, but for now she was content to be happy for her brother and his new friendship.

* * *

_Ta da!! HSM3 COMES OUT TODAY!! I won't be seeing it until tomorrow night, but IT'S FINALLY OUT!! _

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings_


	12. Tech Week

**

* * *

**

Tech Week

* * *

Kelsi was surprised to see Jason sitting in the audience as she entered from Stage Left. She made her way down to the seats to talk to him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked curiously.

"Zeke made me sign up for Stage Crew with him," Jason said as he rolled his eyes.

Kelsi chuckled and shook her head, "I should have known. If that boy has an excuse to see Sharpay he'll use it."

"I need to speak with the stage crew over here," Called Alan, one of the few boys who had participated in the singles auditions. He hadn't made the cut, but Mrs. Darbus had made him stage manager.

"That's me," Jason said as he stood up and headed toward the crowd. Kelsi looked around and noticed Zeke reluctantly leaving Sharpay's shadow and headed toward the group as well.

Kelsi decided she should probably make her way to the orchestra pit. There was a small staircase that led below the stage. Their stage had one trap door with a low-tech rising platform. There was a door that led to that platform, and then a door that led to the orchestra pit which could also raise up and be added as an "apron" to the mainstage. East High rarely used it as an "apron" though. Kelsi opened the door to the orchestra pit and left it open for the other members of the student orchestra that would soon be arriving. She set her score down on the piano, and placed her book bag next to the piano bench.

"Hey, Kelsi!" called Gabriella as she leaned over the guardrail that kept people from falling into the orchestra pit. Kelsi looked up and waved.

"Mind if I come visit before I have to report to my dressing room?" She asked.

"Not at all…come see my world," Kelsi chuckled as she extended her arms and motioned to the rest of the pit.

"Does it ever feel weird being down here while everyone else is up there?" Gabriella asked when she reached the pit and looked up at the stage.

"No, actually, I like it. I feel very at home here, and I don't know I like watching people perform my music. I like seeing how the message of the song affects them," She answered honestly.

Gabriella smiled at her, "You amaze me, Kelsi. You're always thinking of others, and you're so…humble."

Kelsi blushed, "I'm not ALWAYS thinking of others."

"See? HUMBLE," Gabriella chuckled.

Suddenly there was a crash from the stage and she and Gabriella winced. Alan had knocked over the LARGE crescent moon, and almost squashed Sharpay.

"You IDIOT! I'm walking here!" Sharpay screeched at him.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Alan muttered over and over, and he continue to mutter it as he followed Sharpay off stage. Ryan made his way to the edge of the stage.

"Hey, girls," He said with a smile.

"Hey, Ryan," Kelsi said with a smile, "What do you need?"

"Mack told me to tell you that the orchestra would be a little late," He grinned.

She nodded, "Okay, thanks for letting me know."

"Oh Man! Did you guys see that?" Jason asked the group as he joined Ryan at the edge of the stage. "That was awesome. I'm so bringing my camera tomorrow. I never knew near death experiences happened in these shows."

Ryan furrowed his brow at Jason, but chose not to speak.

Kelsi shook her head and chuckled at him, "You better get that set piece upright before Ms. Darbus comes in."

"Right, I definitely don't want any _more_ punishment," Jason said as he called Zeke over and they propped the moon back up.

"What's Jason doing here?" Ryan asked the two girls.

"Zeke made him come," Kelsi said in amusement.

"Right, Zeke," Ryan said in a doubtful tone. "So, he's gonna be at rehearsals from now on?"

"Well, he is stage crew," Gabriella said as she gave the male Evans an odd look.

Ryan opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the clamor of the student orchestra as they filed into the pit.

"Oh, I better get out of your way," Gabriella said as she headed for the door. She glanced up at Ryan, "We're supposed to be in our dressing rooms anyway."

He nodded, "Right."

He gave Kelsi one last smile before turning and heading to his dressing room. He was beginning to feel like he was never going to get to ask her about Jason.


	13. Dress Rehearsal

**

* * *

**

Dress Rehearsal

* * *

Kelsi thought her arms were going to fall off. She had been vamping for the set change for what felt like ten minutes now. She was directing in Four-Four time for the wind section and her arms felt like rubber. What was taking so long? She was used to vamping, but not for this long. Never for this long.

"Alright that's it!" Ms. Darbus yelled. "Everyone stop right this instant! I'm going to find out WHAT is taking so long."

Kelsi sighed and dropped her arms. She noticed the wind section all desperately grab for their water bottles, and gave them an apologetic smile.

The curtain opened and Kelsi could see the problem. Alan had no idea which color tape signified what set pieces nor did he know WHERE they went.

"Dude, it's not hard," She heard Jason explaining. "This is a scene in Minnie's bedroom. See the pink frilly bed? Yeah, that's Minnie's and it goes stage left on the PINK tape."

Kelsi's eyes widened in shock when she realized Jason had actually been paying attention.

"And you don't have enough people carrying this stuff out there either. You need more of us to carry pieces out for this one and less of us for that last scene."

Kelsi chuckled and figured it was the movie director in Jason making it's way to the surface.

She heard Ms. Darbus sigh, "Alan, I'm afraid I do not have time for you to gain your bearings. Mr. Cross you will manage the stage crew from here on out. Alan hand Jason your headset please."

Kelsi let out a sigh of relief. Alan was a nice guy, but he had done nothing but slow things down. Kelsi couldn't be vamping for ten minutes…the audience would walk out before the show even really got going.

"But, Ms. D--"

"Jason, please, do this. If you don't poor Kelsi will have lost all ability to move her arms before opening night is even upon us," Ms. Darbus requested.

She heard Jason sigh and assumed he nodded. She couldn't really see anything. They were too far back on the stage.

"Wonderful! Now, let's take this show from the top!" Ms. Darbus said as she clapped her hands together and descended into the first row of the auditorium.

* * *

"Hey, Kels, you comin' over tonight?" Jason asked her from the edge of the stage once rehearsals were over. She, Zeke, Chad, and Jason were getting together tonight to work on their project for their Home Economics class. They had to prepare a large meal while keeping up with the set budget their teacher had given them, and they were getting together at Jason's that night to plan the menu.

"Yeah, I'll be by around 6:30 is that okay?" She asked.

"That's perfect," He said with a smile.

"Oh, and congratulations, Stage Manager," Kelsi grinned.

He sighed, "I'm only doing this one time, Kels. And if Darbus hadn't guilted me into it by bringing you up then I wouldn't even be doing it now."

"Hey, don't blame me. Blame Zeke. He dragged you here in the first place," Kelsi said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, that's right. How could I forget? He's in for some major payback. Maybe I'll destroy that small cake he's saving for Sharpay in the fridge in the Home Ec. Room. Later, Kels!" Jason said as he scurried off to find the heart-shaped cake Zeke had baked earlier that day.

"He's got a thing for you, FYI," Sharpay said as she pranced across the stage.

"I kind of already know that, Sharpay," Kelsi told her.

"And you're NOT jumping all over him? I mean I know he's not the smartest guy around, but he's on the basketball team. Do you have any idea how many girls would kill to have his class ring on a chain around their neck? And you could have it in a snap yet you don't make a move. I SO don't get you," Sharpay said with a hair flip.

"You're right. Some girls might kill to have that, but I'm not one of them. It would be wrong to lead Jason on like that when I don't have those kinds of feelings for him. I could never be that cruel," Kelsi told her with a quiver in her voice as she began to pack up her stuff.

Against her will Sharpay gave Kelsi an impressed glance, "Some people might say that makes you naïve."

Kelsi shrugged and continued nervously, "I am, and I don't mind. Why is being naïve always a bad thing?"

It had been a long time since she and Sharpay had talked without it ending with Kelsi being threatened, and she was beginning to wonder when Sharpay was going to pounce.

"Please, any good competitor can NOT risk being naïve," Sharpay scoffed. "Oh wait, I almost forgot. You're definitely no one's competition."

And there it was: the defense mechanism. When things get a little too friendly for the Drama Queen she throws out an insult. Can't let the Ice Queen mask thaw too much. Kelsi sighed as she listened to Sharpay's heels click against the stage and as they faded into the distance she couldn't help but feel slightly sad for the blonde. Maybe one day she would learn that not EVERYTHING is a competition. After all that had almost been a friendly moment.

She heard a throat clear behind her and turned to see Ryan stepping through the doorway to the orchestra pit.

"Sorry about her," He said with a sigh.

Kelsi smiled softly at him, "It's alright. I'm used to it."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't be. It's not like YOU'RE the one that's related to her," He chuckled.

Kelsi shrugged, "Just a day in the life of Kelsi Nielson."

He nodded, "So, what you said to Shar about you and Jason is that true?"

"Yeah, Jason's a nice guy, but there's no chemistry there, you know?" Kelsi said as she slipped her messenger bag onto her shoulder.

"Yeah," He smiled. "I think I do."

"And besides, this is me we're talking about here. If there had been something there it more than likely would have been doomed. Kelsi Nielson does NOT have good luck with romance," She said with a self-depreciating grin.

He eyed her skeptically, "I don't believe that."

"Oh, believe it, buddy. Never had a crush returned in my life. Not even in kindergarten when I made Kyle Landors a big, red, heart shaped, construction paper valentine. I believe his exact words were "Yuck, cooties." I'm beginning to think I was cursed at some point in time," She continued with a weak chuckle.

"You're not cursed," He smirked.

"Believe me, I think I am," Kelsi said with a sigh as she risked a glance into Ryan's eyes. "Well, Ryan, I've got to go. Zeke's giving me a ride to Jason's so we can work on our project."

He nodded, "See you tomorrow, Kels."

"Yeah, Tomorrow," She said as she turned and walked out of the orchestra pit. She was so distracted by her conversation with Ryan that she missed the last step up from the pit and face planted onto the linoleum. "Ow!"

"Kelsi!" Ryan called as he rushed after her. "Are you okay? I saw the whole thing. It looked pretty brutal."

Kelsi could feel her face heating up. He saw the whole thing?

"I-I'm fine. Really. No damage done," She said with a gulp and she scrambled back up. "Bye!"

She walked quickly out of the auditorium.

"I am DEFINITELY cursed," She muttered to herself as she reached the hallway and slowed her pace. "Why else am I such a klutz?"


	14. Opening Night

**

* * *

**

Opening Night

* * *

Kelsi sighed in relief as the curtain closed after the first act.

"Be back here in ten minutes, guys," She told the student orchestra as they all left the pit for a break. The PTA supplied the cast and crew with free water and snacks backstage at intermission, and that's where they were all headed. Herself included. Ms. Darbus would also make her way backstage to give everyone notes on their performances so far. Before she could make her way out of the pit she turned to find Ryan walking toward her.

"The Orchestration sounds great, Kels." He told her.

"Thanks," She said with a smile. "You and Troy were really rocking out to "Who Better Than Me." Up there."

He chuckled, "It's a fun song to sing."

He held out a water bottle to her, "I thought you might need this."

"Thanks," She said as she accepted it from him. "So, I heard Shar was a joy today."

"You're being sarcastic, right?"

Kelsi chuckled, "Of course."

"She woke up in a worse mood than normal. It's like she finally realized she wasn't THE star of the production," Ryan said with a shake of his head. "If she doesn't get the lead in the Spring Musical then I'm having my ears chopped off."

Kelsi laughed, "Speaking of the Spring show…Ms. D asked me to help her pick it out. She wants me to direct the music."

"We won't be performing a Nielson original?" He asked with a grin.

"Nope, Ms. D wanted to do something with a name that would raise more money. She just purchased the amateur rights the other day actually," Kelsi said with a secretive smirk.

"What is it?" Ryan asked curiously.

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"Oh come on! I won't tell any one."

"Nope, Can't tell you, Evans," Kelsi grinned.

He shook his head, "That's evil."

"I will tell you this much…you'll LOVE it," She said with a bright smile.

"You're really gonna make me wait a full two weeks to find out?"

She nodded silently and continued to smile at him.

He sighed, "Not even Sharpay would do that."

Kelsi chuckled and made her way out of the orchestra pit to congratulate Troy and Gabby on how well they were performing. Ryan followed her out and continued to pester her for the show's name.

"You're just gonna have to wait until after Spring Break." She told him in amusement as she made it to Gabriella's dressing room.

"That's just mean," He told her.

"You'll get over it," She laughed.

Kelsi knocked on Gabriella's door.

"Hey, Kels! Ryan," Gabriella said excitedly as she answered. "How am I doing?"

"You're amazing. I told you that audience would be no big deal," Ryan said with a friendly wink.

"Thanks for that Pep talk earlier, by the way. It really helped," Gabriella said. "What do you think, Kelsi?"

"You're spot on. You haven't made a single mistake yet," She smiled.

"Knock on wood," Ryan told her. She glanced at him strangely.

"Why?"

"So you don't jinx it," He said urgently. When Kelsi merely looked at him he grabbed her hand and knocked it lightly on the door frame of Gabriella's dressing room. "There, that's better."

She laughed and shook her head.

"Sharpay and I are having a cast party at our house tonight. You're both coming right?" He asked them.

"Wouldn't miss it," Gabriella said with a nod.

"I'll be there. I always am," Kelsi told him with a chuckle.

"Great! I better go find Sharpay. See you ladies later!" He said excitedly as jogged off toward Sharpay's dressing room.

Kelsi watched him go and smiled. Ryan was always in a good mood during performances. A part of her had been afraid that he would react the way Sharpay had to not having a the lead role. She was glad to see that his love of theatre transcended any type of role, and truth be told it made her admire him even more than she already did.

* * *

_Okay I know this is short, but the good stuff is coming in the next one. I just wanted to elude to the upcoming Spring Musical. I think we all can assume that Twinkle Town was a success…by the way...you guys ROCK! This story has way more reviews than I EVER imagined it would have...and I'm not even close to being finished!_

_Thanks sooo much!_


	15. Cast Party

* * *

Cast Party

* * *

Sharpay was in her element as hostess. The more people who showed up the happier she was. She was in such a good mood that she managed to compliment Gabriella AND acknowledge Zeke. But Ryan felt out of place. This was not his kind of party. He liked smaller functions. He would have proffered to just have the cast and crew over instead of all of East High. His sister didn't quite agree.

As the party broke into full swing Ryan slipped away into the kitchen. He hadn't been able to find anyone he wanted to find. He turned as he pushed through the swinging door to his kitchen and was greeted by the sight of Kelsi Nielson chewing on a celery stick.

"Trying to hide from the insanity too?" He asked her.

She jumped at the sound of his voice. Apparently she had been spacing out. When she realized it was Ryan who had spoken she smiled at him.

"Hi, Ryan."

"Hey, Kels. Not a big partier?"

"Not really, I'm more of a quiet get together type of person. Well…most of the time anyway," She grinned.

"Same here. I'm not against big parties I'm just not in the mood for one THIS big tonight."

"So, I'm guessing all of _that_," Kelsi said as she pointed to the swinging door he had just entered. "Was Sharpay's doing?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

She chuckled, "I suppose not."

"Has anyone seen Ryan? RYAN!"

Ryan's eyes widened at the sound of Sharpay's voice, and he frantically glanced around the room for an alternate exit than the one he came from. Kelsi giggled as his expression, and watched him with amusement. He suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her out another swinging door and up a winding staircase.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"The Music Room," He said as he lead her down a hall way.

"Music Room? You have a whole room dedicated to music?" Kelsi asked in awe.

Ryan didn't answer until they were safely around two more corners and inside the Music Room. He sat down on an empty stool and let out a sigh of relief, "Yes, we do."

"Wow," Kelsi said as she caught sight of the baby grand piano in the corner. "Is that a Steinway?"

He nodded, "It was my great grandmothers."

"Do you mind?" She asked as she sat down on the piano bench.

"Go right ahead," He told her with a smile.

She sighed reverently and gingerly placed her feet on the petals.

"I love baby grands," She told him softly. "That's why I show up to school so early. I love the piano in the rehearsal room."

She began to play "What I've Been Looking For", and he finally realized why Kelsi chose to write the song in the tempo that she did. He was surprised it had taken him this long to hear the beauty in Kelsi's original version. He suddenly felt the need to apologize for the atrocities he allowed his sister to inflict on her music.

"Kelsi?"

"Yes?"

"Sharpay and I shouldn't have performed that song the way we did."

Kelsi blinked. She hadn't been expecting him to say that.

He cleared his throat and continued, "That song was perfect the way it was."

She smiled brightly at him, "Thank you."

"My pleasure."

Kelsi grinned and changed songs. Ryan chuckled as he recognized the melody. He moved across the room and stood beside her as she played.

He began singing along to the cheery melody.

"_Make 'em laugh, Make 'em laugh,_

_Don't you know all the world wants to laugh?_

_My grandpa said, "Go out and tell 'em a joke,_

_But give it plenty of hoke."_

_Make 'em roar,_

_Make 'em scream. _

_Take a fall,_

_Bust a wall,_

_Split a seam."_

Kelsi stopped playing and smirked secretly at Ryan, "That's all the hint you're going to get."

"Hint?" He asked in confusion.

She nodded and continued to smirk.

"Wait, does that have to do with the Spring Show? It does doesn't it? We're not…we can't by doing…ARE WE?" He asked her excitedly.

She chuckled and nodded.

"No WAY! That's AWESOME!"

The door burst open and the two looked up to see Sharpay.

"I should have known you two would be up here. Come on, You HAVE to make an appearance!" She said as she marched into the room and stomped her stiletto heel at them. They reluctantly stood up and Sharpay practically had to push them both out of the room. "You'd think you two didn't know how to party."

* * *


	16. Spring Musical

**

* * *

**

Spring Musical

* * *

Kelsi normally spent her Spring Break with her piano, but Kelsi's year so far had been far from normal. So of course she did something she'd never really had the chance to do during Spring Break. She hung out with friends. They didn't really do anything either. They went to the movies, hung out at the Boltons and the girls watched the guys play Guitar Hero. Gabriella and Martha would have played, but the boys were hogging the guitars. So instead they all chatted about inconsequential topics.

In short Spring Break had been a blast. Kelsi hadn't hung out with anyone like that since fourth grade. It was nice to just chill and enjoy each other's company.

But now Spring Break was over, and they were back in Ms. Darbus's home room. She was about to make the announcement for the Spring Musical. Auditions were scheduled for next week, and Ms. Darbus wanted to give people an appropriate amount of time to prepare. Kelsi glanced in Ryan's direction and he tossed her a grin and a wink. She smiled and turned away before she blushed.

"And now the time I'm sure you've all been waiting for…the announcement for our Spring Show," Ms. Darbus announced. Sharpay clapped lightly and excitedly and Ryan smiled at his sister in amusement. "I have acquired the Amateur production rights for 'Singing in the Rain'. Auditions will begin next week. Single auditions only. No pairs this time around. I hope to see a lot of you at auditions. I'm sure this show will be a wonderful experience."

And with that over Ms. Darbus fell into her usual homeroom rant, and the students fell into their usual home room daze. Kelsi's mind began working at a hundred miles per hour. She already had a copy of the score, and it was extremely difficult. She needed to start working with the student orchestra this week in order for them to perfect it by the time opening night came around. She began scribbling down notes for rehearsal times, and began figuring out how big of an orchestra she would need. There was a lot to this score so she knew she would need a larger orchestra than the one she had for Twinkle Town. Before she knew it homeroom was over and Gabriella was rushing up to her desk.

"Singing in the Rain? I love that movie. I really didn't think I would be doing this show, but now? I can not resist," Gabriella gushed. "Kathy Seldon is like my dream role."

Sharpay passed Gabriella and did not give up a shoulder bump as she did so. Ryan shook his head as he followed after her. Kelsi's gaze followed Ryan out the door before turning back to Gabriella.

"So you're auditioning?" Kelsi asked.

"Definitely. I tried to talk Troy into auditioning too, but he's pretty against it," Gabriella told her. "That's okay though because nobody else could be Don, but Ryan right? I mean he's the best dancer in the entire school."

A thought suddenly struck Kelsi as Gabriella continued to chat excitedly. Gabriella would be cast as Kathy. Sharpay was too blonde to be cast as Kathy. Ms. Darbus was going to try and have her cast resemble the movie cast. She had already mentioned that to Kelsi. That meant Ryan and Gabriella would be playing opposite each other. She bit her bottom lip in worry. She wasn't fretting over Gabriella's side of things because Gabriella was obviously head over heels for Troy Bolton. But Ryan…

What if Ryan came away from all of this with feelings for Gabriella? She was a genius, she was beautiful, sweet (on occasion a little too sweet), wasn't afraid to say what she thought, and would have probably already stood up to Sharpay by now if she were Kelsi. Gabriella was everything Kelsi wasn't.

Great, Ryan was going to end up with a one-sided crush and will probably tell Kelsi all about it.

"Kels? Kelsi?"

Kelsi's head snapped back up to look at Gabriella. Her friend's face looked concerned.

"You okay?"

Kelsi nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just spaced out for a little bit. That's all."

"This show is going to be so much fun, don't you think?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah," Kelsi said with a sigh. "A blast."

* * *

_I know it's short, but with exams starting this week I wanted to update (since I probably won't have another chance until the 17th)._

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings_


	17. Call Backs

**

* * *

**

Call Backs

* * *

"We're going to do call backs a little differently this time around. I will call everyone who has received a call back to the stage by the role they have a call back for. First I want to see each of you read an excerpt from the script," Ms. Darbus announced at the beginning of call backs the next week. "Don Lockwood!"

Three young men left their seats in the house and moved toward the stage. Ryan stood in between the other two. Jeff the one on Ryan's left could act, but was not very good at singing or dancing. Charlie on Ryan's right could sing, but wasn't very good at the acting. Ryan was a triple threat so there was no doubt in Kelsi's mind as to who would be playing Don. Each of them would be reading Don's opening monologue. Ryan was out acting them all just like she knew he would.

"…dignity. Always dignity."

She chuckled as Ryan finished up his monologue. This role was practically made for him. Well she supposed it was actually made for Gene Kelly, but Ryan was certainly runner-up.

"Thank you," Ms. Darbus called out. "You three may have a seat. Kathy Seldon!"

Gabriella, Sharpay, and a girl by the name of Molly stood on stage.

Sharpay over acted nearly every line, and Molly couldn't project to save her life. Gabriella was the best mostly by default, but she was still very good in the role. When Ms. Darbus told them all to sit down Kelsi already knew who she would be casting.

"Cosmo Brown!"

Charlie from the Don auditions was back on stage, Ryan was there as well, but this time instead of Jeff a boy named Luke was on stage. Ryan was very good as Cosmo as well, but Kelsi knew he was going to be Don. He was too perfect for the role to be anyone else. Out of the three of them Kelsi thought Luke was the most likely choice for Cosmo. He was the second best male dancer at the school (Just below Ryan), and had very good comedic timing. The left the stage and Kelsi smiled at Ryan as he passed her. He smiled back at sat down in the empty seat beside of her.

"How am I doing?" he asked.

She grinned, "Very well. But then again I didn't expect anything less from you."

"Lina Lamont!"

Kelsi and Ryan turned back to the stage Sharpay and a girl named Bethany took center stage. Sharpay was perfect for Lina. She even had the accent down. Bethany was good as well only she wasn't as active as Sharpay was. Sharpay had lots of movement when she spoke and Bethany moved from her spot very rarely.

"…Donnie, how can you let him talk to me like that? Your fiancé."

The people in the house laughed in amusement as Sharpay finished, and Ms. Darbus excused her and Bethany.

"Alright, now I'm going to call out eight names. And I'd like those eight names to stay. I want to thank everyone for coming out an auditioning. I can already tell that this is going to be an outstanding production," Ms. Darbus announced, "Sharpay Evans, Bethany Collins, Ryan Evans, Gabriella Montez, Luke Conrad, Charlie Kline, Molly Johnson, and Jeff Valiant. And Kelsi, I'm going to need you at the piano."

Kelsi nodded and headed toward the stage.

"I'm going to split you up into groups of four. I want to hear these groups sing and act together in certain roles. Ryan Evans, Gabriella Montez, Sharpay Evans, and Luke Conrad are group one, Bethany Collins, Molly Johnson, Jeff Valiant, and Charlie Kline are group two. I would like Ryan and Jeff to read and sing for Don, Charlie and Luke to read and sing for Cosmo, Bethany and Sharpay to read and sing for Lina, and Gabriella and Molly to read and sing for Kathy. First I would like to hear Sharpay and Bethany sing 'What's Wrong with Me?' Lina's number," Ms. Darbus continued as she glanced toward Kelsi. Kelsi nodded and flipped to the proper page.

"Ms. Darbus, I'm not sure why we have to do a singing audition for this show. Lina rarely sings, and when she does it's completely off key," Bethany protested.

"You do not have to sing if you don't want to Bethany," Ms. Darbus told her with a raised eyebrow.

Bethany muttered something about "Sharpay getting the part anyway." And stomped up to the stage. Kelsi did not like the girl's attitude. Of course, Sharpay was going to get the role if Bethany acted that way. As much of a perfectionist as Sharpay was Kelsi was surprised at how easily she could pull of singing terribly off key. When they were done Bethany returned to her seat in a huff.

"Wonderful, thank you very much ladies," Ms. Darbus told them.

"Now I would like to see Ryan, Gabriella, and Luke perform "Good Morning" followed by the other group singing the same song."

Kelsi quickly found the music, and watched as Gabriella performed with Ryan and Luke. Ryan even showcased some of Gene Kelly's choreography during the number and some how Gabriella had picked up on some of it as well. She mostly followed Ryan's lead and did as he did, but it showed how well they worked together. Luke was very funny as Cosmo and had great chemistry with Ryan. She really felt as if the two guys had been friends all of their lives. They made you believe there was a history there. In her opinion Ms. Darbus already had her cast with group one. Group 2 went after them. They were good, but they simply weren't AS good as Ryan, Gabriella, and Luke.

"Alright, thank you all for auditioning. You all did a wonderful job. The list will be posted on Monday. Have a great weekend," Ms. Darbus called as she excused everyone. She stopped Kelsi as she passed.

"Do you have your picks ready for me, Ms. Nielson?"

Kelsi nodded and handed Ms. Darbus a sheet of notebook paper, "They're all right there. I figure I will cast the "Beautiful Girl" number after we have our ensemble cast. It will be easier that way."

"All right, thank you Kelsi. I will take these into consideration," Ms. Darbus told her with a smile. Kelsi nodded and exited the auditorium.


	18. Waiting

**

* * *

**

Waiting

* * *

Kelsi's phone rang as soon as she got home after call backs.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kels. When do you think Ms. Darbus will have the cast list up?" Gabriella asked her.

"Probably Monday morning after home room," Kelsi told her.

"How do you think I did?"

"You were great, Gabs," Kelsi told her as she sat her bag down in her bedroom.

"Ryan was amazing today. If he's not Don then Ms. Darbus is nuts," Gabriella said. "Sharpay did an awesome job too. I mean I knew she was talented, but I didn't know she could be that hysterical."

"Sharpay is a very well rounded actress. She may be selfish, but she's very talented," Kelsi agreed.

"Gosh, I don't know if I can wait for the weekend to be over to find out. I'm so anxious," Gabriella gushed.

"I'm positive that you have nothing to worry about, Gabby. Just relax and spend the weekend distracting yourself. I'm sure Troy would be more than happy to get your mind off of the auditions," Kelsi grinned with a chuckle.

If it was possible she could hear Gabriella blush over the line, "I'm sure he would. So, I saw you and Ryan chatting during call backs…"

"And?"

"And…I know you like him. You might as well admit it out loud, my friend," She told her.

Kelsi sighed, "It's not like it matters. I'm not his type."

"How are you not his type? You're a musical genius, Kels," Gabriella told her.

"I'm too invisible," She told her.

"That's because you hide behind your sheet music. You could be very visible if you wanted to be," Gabriella encouraged her.

Kelsi sighed, "You make it sound a lot less complicated than it is."

There was a beep on her phone.

"I gotta go, Gabs, I'm getting another call," She said as she switched over. "Hello?"

"Kelsi?"

"Ryan?" She asked in shock.

"Yeah, I hope it's okay that I called," He said.

"Definitely, I just didn't know you had my number," She said.

"I got it from Gabriella after call backs," He told her bashfully.

"Really?"

"Yeah," He told her. "I wanted to ask when you thought Ms. D would have the cast list up."

Kelsi chuckled, "It seems that's what a lot of people want to know."

"What do you mean?"

"Gabriella just called to ask me the same thing," She grinned. "I'm fairly certain she'll have the list up on Monday right after home room."

"Great, I'm going to go insane waiting all weekend to find out," He sighed.

"Like I told Gabby, I don't think you have anything to worry about," She told him. "You were amazing."

"Thanks," He said. "Gabriella was very good today, wasn't she? Don't tell my sister but I think Gabriella is a shoe in for Kathy. Sharpay is better suited for more extravagant roles."

"I agree, and you and Gabriella worked very well together on "Good Morning" today," She told him. "I was impressed."

"It was fun. I don't often get to perform with someone other than Shar," He told her.

"Ms. Darbus would be insane not to cast the two of you together," Kelsi told him.

"I don't know how Gabriella does it. She's a genius and she's got a beautiful voice. Even during Twinkle Town she had kept her grades very high and managed to do an amazing job on the show…"

Kelsi bit back a sigh. It was starting already. He was gushing about Gabriella, and this was only callbacks. She was going to be the confidant. She cleared her throat.

"Hey, Ryan? I'm sorry but I've got to go. I'll see you Monday?" She asked.

"Oh, well, um, yeah sure," He said. "See you Monday, Kelsi."

"Bye," She said as she hung up. As soon as she hung up her phone rang again and she answered with a groan.

"The cast list will be up Monday after home room, people. Leave me alone," She snapped.

"That's a heck of a greeting, Small Person," Chad said with a chuckle.

"Chad?"

"Yeah, Taylor, Zeke, and Jason are over here," He told her. "We thought you might want to come and hang out. Taylor is forcing us to watch lame musicals, and we thought you might be interested."

"Oh," She said with a smile. "Sure, I'd love to hang out."

"Great, Jason's coming to pick you up. He'll be there in about five minutes," Chad told her.

"Sounds good," She agreed.

"See you in a few, Kels," Chad said as he hung up.

* * *

_Sorry this has taken me so long. But I had my wisdom teeth out a couple of days ago, and I've had family stuff going on and then with all the family things around Christmas I just haven't had as much time as I thought. Enjoy!_


	19. Cast List

**

* * *

Cast List

* * *

  
**

Kelsi grinned as she walked into homeroom. Ms. Darbus had pulled her aside and given her an advanced peak of the cast list, and everything had turned out just like she wanted it. Well, everything had turned out the way the music director in her wanted. If she were being honest with herself Gabriella and Ryan starring opposite each other worried her. She could see Ryan and Gabriella shifting nervously during home room. She grinned in amusement. It was kind of fun to know things that no one else did.

Home room ended and Ms. Darbus headed out the door with two pieces of paper. The drama club quickly followed her. When they reached the drama club billboard a crowd was already waiting there. Ms. Darbus stapled the list to the billboard, and smiled at the group as she walked away. Gabriella bit her bottom lip and turned to Troy.

"I can't look," She said. Troy chuckled at her and shook his head.

"It's just a piece of paper, Gabby," He said with a warm smile.

"Just go look!" She said with a nervous laugh. He arched an eyebrow at her and smirked.

"Maybe I will…maybe I won't," He said.

She glared at him playfully and smacked his shoulder, "Troy Bolton-"

He held his hands up in surrender, "Okay, okay. Sheesh, you don't have to abuse me, I'll look."

Troy pushed his way to the front of the crowd and reached the list at the same time as Ryan. They nodded to each other in acknowledgement, and scanned the list. Ryan smiled brightly and glanced back at Kelsi. She smiled back at him and gave him a thumbs up. Troy grinned and turned to look back at Gabriella. He nodded at her and winked. Gabriella rushed Troy with a hug.

"Like you really had anything to worry about," He said with a laugh. Sharpay sighed and glared at Gabriella. Kelsi watched as Sharpay stomped her foot and then walked away. Kelsi also noticed Zeke slip away from the group and follow her. She looked over at Ryan and saw him shaking his head with an amused expression. He'd seen Zeke follow his sister as well. Suddenly Kelsi was rushed with a hug from out of nowhere. Her eyes widened and her body tensed.

"Woo hoo! I got the role I wanted! Yeah!"

She leaned back to look at who hugged her. It was that guy Luke who had gotten the role of Cosmo.

Kelsi chuckled at him, "Congratulations."

He paused and grinned sheepishly at her, "Um, hi."

She grinned and blushed, "Hi."

He cleared his throat and stepped away, "I'm Luke."

"Kelsi," She said.

"Sorry about the hug. I was just—"

"A little too excited?" She asked in amusement.

Luke blushed and nodded, "Yeah…"

"Don't worry, I won't hold it against you," She grinned.

"Luke! Man, you coming?" one of his buddies asked as they passed him.

"Yeah, I'll be right there!" He called. He turned back to Kelsi, "It was nice to meet you."

"You too, I'll see you at rehearsals," She told him. He nodded and jogged off after his friend.

"_Who_ was that?" Taylor asked suddenly from behind Kelsi. Kelsi jumped.

"Yeesh! When did you show up?" Kelsi exclaimed in shock.

"About second before that guy mauled you," Taylor chuckled.

"His name is Luke, and he was cast as Cosmo Brown in the show," Kelsi told her.

She raised an eyebrow in the direction that Luke ran off, "He's cute."

Kelsi shrugged, "I guess so."

"You guess so? Did you even _look_ at him? The blonde hair, the green eyes, the arms peeking out from under those short sleeves…"

"I wasn't really paying attention to _every_ detail, Taylor," Kelsi said with a grin.

"Well, next time…**pay attention**," Taylor insisted as she left Kelsi's side to congratulate Gabriella. Kelsi's gaze followed Taylor. Her heart sank a little bit. Ryan and Gabriella were chatting happily. Ryan's stellar smile was completely focused on her. Kelsi sighed and then looked back at Luke's retreating form.

"Maybe I will," She muttered to herself. "Maybe he'll keep me distracted."

Kelsi turned and walked away from the group. She had home economics next, and she really didn't want to watch Ryan worship Gabriella. As she entered the home economics room she noticed Jason sitting at their usual kitchen station. He was shaking his head at two people in the back corner of the room. Kelsi grinned when she realized he was shaking his head at Zeke and Sharpay. Zeke was handing Sharpay a container of brownies. She set the container down and removed the lid. Kelsi made her way to Jason and sat down beside of him.

"Hey," She said with a wave.

"Hey," He responded.

"Oh my God! These are amazing," Sharpay said excitedly as she continued to chew her bite.

"They're double fudge," Zeke told her happily.

"They're brilliant," She said with a smile. "You must make me more."

Sharpay snatched the container and held it tight to her chest as she walked out of the room. Zeke stared after her dreamily, and then joined Jason and Kelsi at the station.

He sighed, "Isn't she amazing?"

"Not really, no," Jason answered with a shake of his head.

Zeke glared at Jason, "I'm sure that deep down-"

"Dude, seriously?" Jason said with a shake of his head.

"I don't know, Jase, I've seen her come very close to being genuinely nice," Kelsi told him. "Zeke could be right about her."

He shrugged, "I guess."

Zeke gave Kelsi a surprised glance, "Thanks."

"Anytime," She told him with a smile and a pat on the shoulder.

"So, why aren't you celebrating with Gabriella right now?" Jason asked her.

Kelsi shrugged, "No reason."

Zeke raised an eyebrow at her, "Really?"

"I just felt like coming to class early. Is that a crime?"

Jason shook his head, "No, but it is suspicious. Didn't I see Ryan and Gabriella being very chatty earlier?"

Kelsi looked down at the table and shrugged, "So?"

Zeke's eyes widened, "You _like_ him."

"I don't know what you're talking about," She said.

Jason shook his head at her, "Yes you do. You like Ryan."

"Jas-"

"Kelsi, come on. Just admit it," He said with an almost bitter grin. "It's not a crime to have a crush on some one. I should know."

She sighed, "Okay, so maybe I do. It's not like it matters anyway. He's already starting to fall for Gabby."

"I don't see how that's an issue. She's not available," Zeke said in confusion.

"Doesn't mean he can't have feelings for her," Jason told him.

"Dude, since when are you so sensitive?" Zeke asked in shock.

Jason glanced in Kelsi's direction quickly, but said nothing. Kelsi gulped and for some inexplicable reason…she felt guilty. For the first time she could see that Jason was actually hurt. There was an awkward vibe floating through the room. Kelsi gulped and prayed that someone would change the subject or break the silence. Suddenly Chad and a group of students entered the room.

"Alright, so what's on the menu for today?" He asked happily as he dropped his book bag by the station.

"We're practicing one of our side dishes for our project," Zeke told him.

"Right, which one?"

And just like that the discussion moved on. Kelsi let out a sigh of relief. That was the first awkward moment between her and Jason since their date. She really hoped there wouldn't be anymore.


	20. Honesty

* * *

**Honesty

* * *

  
**

Kelsi had been arriving at school nearly an hour early every day. She wanted to play. She hadn't just sat down at a piano and let loose in a long time. And if there was ever a time she needed to let loose…it was now. Ryan had been trying quiz her on Gabriella all week, and every time Kelsi would change the subject or claim she had something to do that she'd "forgotten" about. Kelsi sighed and began playing. When ever she needed to vent she always played the first piece she had ever written. She loved it. It had no words, no other performers…it was just a simple piano piece. Just her and the piano. As she played she thought about the last week and realized something that nearly made her panic. She took a deep breath and kept playing despite the tightening in her chest and the fear that rose within her.

Lately she had been acting like pre-callback Kelsi. She was quiet and secluded. She was retreating back in her shell, and all because some boy didn't return her feelings. Okay…so Ryan isn't just "some boy", but still he was part of the reason she was acting the way she had been. Martha had mentioned it the other day and Kelsi had brushed it off, but as she played she began to realize she was hiding in her music again. For so long she had relied on music to fill the void of friendship. She would play instead of confiding a problem in some one, but lately she had become more open with her friends. She was willing to really talk about what was going on with her…until this crush on Ryan developed. Now she felt like she had no one to confide in.

She begrudgingly put aside her feelings for Ryan and really thought about what was going on with him and Gabriella. Gabriella was obviously taken, and not just because everyone knew she was dating East High's big man on campus. Everything about Gabriella practically screamed "I'm so crazy in love with Troy Bolton!" But Ryan…either didn't notice or was choosing to ignore it. He was going to get himself hurt if this crush on Gabriella kept going. As his friend she needed to say something. She needed to jerk his head out of the clouds and place his feet firmly back on the ground. She needed to tell him what she really thought about his flirtation with Gabriella.

There was a knock on the music room door and Kelsi turned just as it opened to reveal Ryan.

"Hey, Kels, can we talk?" He asked.

She paused in her playing and faced him, "About?"

He cleared his throat nervously, "How well do you know Gabriella?"

She shrugged, "Pretty well, I guess. I mean I don't know her as well as Taylor, but I do know her."

"You guys hang out a lot right?" He asked.

"Yeah, the whole gang does. What are you getting at, Ryan?" Kelsi asked in confusion.

"Does she seem happy with Troy?"

Kelsi gave him a shocked look and sighed, "I hate to tell you this, Ryan, but she is VERY happy with Troy."

He winced, "It's that obvious that I-"

"Have a mega huge crush on her? Yes it is," Kelsi said with a less than heartfelt smile.

"So…"

"So, what?" She asked expectantly.

"What do you think?"

"Think? Of your crush on Gabby?" Kelsi asked. "Well, I don't think you stand a chance Ryan. She's head over heels for Troy."

He gave her a sullen look, "Ouch, Kelsi that was a little harsh."

She played a scale quickly before responding, "Would you rather I lied to you? Would you rather I told you it would be no problem for you to swipe Gabby away from Troy?"

"I just didn't expect you to be so…abrupt," He said as he gave Kelsi a suspicious look. She was being very short tempered with him, and he didn't quite understand why. "Are you okay?"

"That's a good question. These days I'm not so sure," Kelsi said vaguely. "Jason has not talked to me all week, and then you're going around all love-struck for a clearly taken girl, and apparently I've become the confidant of the group. I mean I have my own messes to work through…but does anybody ever ask ME about those? No."

Ryan's eyes widened, but he wasn't about to stop her. She obviously needed to vent, and he was going to let her.

"I bet no one knows that Jason's this close to pounding Luke's face into the ground because Luke just happens to be a little flirty. As a matter of fact Jason has been very very weird lately. I mean I thought we were fine, but he's suddenly become extremely touchy where I'm concerned," She finished. Kelsi let out a sigh of relief and then nearly panicked when she realized what just happened. She was lucky she stopped before she told Ryan about crush on him.

"Wow, Kelsi. Why haven't you told anybody else about this?" Ryan asked.

"Who am I going to tell? I don't want to embarrass Jason, and I don't want to weird Luke out-"

"Why'd you tell me?" He asked.

"I didn't mean to," She told him. "It just kind of…spilled out."

He smiled softly at her, "Well, I'm glad it did. It sounds like you really needed to talk."

"You don't know the half of it," She muttered under her breath.

"Sorry?" he asked.

"Um, I said, 'yeah I guess I did'."

"Oh," he said before glancing down at his watch. "Well, I've got to go. I told Gabby I'd meet her in the auditorium this morning to go over the choreography for 'Dream of You'."

She nodded, "I'll see you in home room then."

"Yeah, see you later," He said as he left.

* * *

After suffering through a home room in which Jason deliberately ignored her, Kelsi was dreading walking into Home Economics. She set her stuff down by their kitchenette center and sat down on the stool next to Jason in the hopes that he would acknowledge her, but he didn't. Kelsi anxiously started nibbling on her thumb nail. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. What happened to Jason not blaming her for not returning his feelings? She let out a frustrated breath. Zeke walked in and glanced between his friends. He'd noticed Jason's attitude toward the composer over the past week, but Jason hadn't said anything to him about it which was surprising since Jason usually told him practically everything. Not only that, but Zeke was concerned for Kelsi. She'd been removed from every one lately, and had gone back to her old habit of retreating to the music room all the time. Zeke had a feeling that had more to do with Ryan than with Jason, though. Zeke sat down quietly next to Kelsi, and hoped that one of them would say something soon.

Chad burst into the room in his usual dramatic fashion, "I'm here…let the excitement begin!"

Chad looked confused when no one made any witty remarks, "Hello? I said, 'I'm here…let the excitement begin!'…okay? Are you guys alive?"

Zeke chuckled, "If we weren't would you shut up?"

Chad smiled and patted Zeke on the back, "There we go! That's the reaction I was looking for."

Even Jason had to grin at that, "So you're not happy unless we're telling you to shut up?"

"Man, have you MET my girlfriend? She is constantly telling me to shut up…so it's got to do something for me."

Despite himself Jason cast Kelsi a concerned glance when she didn't even crack a smile. She was still spaced out, and she did not look happy. Jason cursed his own stupidity. He had taken this thing too far. He had told Kelsi that he didn't blame her for not returning his feelings, but here he was taking out his jealousy on her. She hadn't done anything wrong. She obviously had lots of things on her mind. He didn't need to be adding to those. He promised himself to have a talk with her once class ended. She needed to be pulled out of her shell, and he was going to be the one to help her with that.

* * *

Jason waited by the door of the classroom for Kelsi to exit, and when she did it he pulled her into a secluded section of the hallway.

"We need to talk," he told her.

Kelsi's eyes widened in surprise, "You're talking to me now?"

"That's what I wanted to talk about," He said with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I've been a jerk to you this week. I can't take you like this anymore."

She tilted her head to the side in confusion, "Like what exactly?"

"Like anti-social Kelsi," Jason told her with a sigh. "I cannot let you hide again. You need to talk about something right? Well, let me hear it."

"Really?" She asked suspiciously.

He nodded, "Really."

"Luke asked me out," Kelsi told him and watched him carefully for a reaction. Jason tensed slightly, but after a few deep breaths relaxed and motioned for her to continue. "I kind of like him, but…I don't know…I feel like it wouldn't work out."

"How do you know if you don't try?" Jason asked her.

"I 'tried' things with you and look how that turned out…"

"Things between us are NOT that bad. It's just gonna take me a little longer than I thought to work things out is all. I STILL want to be your friend Kelsi that hasn't changed," Jason told her. "So, how are you handling the Ryan and Gabriella thing?"

"Well, I was really snappy with Ryan this morning when he tried to ask me about Gabriella," She told him as they started to walk toward her next class.

Jason chuckled, "I'm not surprised."

"And then I ranted and nearly told him about my feelings," Kelsi sighed.

"Maybe you should tell him," Jason suggested.

"Are you kidding me? I can't do that…he doesn't feel that way about me, Jase. I know he doesn't," Kelsi said as she shook her head at the idea.

* * *

_Sorry that it's been so long since my last update! Real life just kept getting in the way, but now you guys have an update! YAY! Enjoy!_


	21. The Deal

**

* * *

The Deal

* * *

  
**

Kelsi watched Ryan and Gabriella rehearse Don and Kathy's first scene, and felt envy bubble up in her chest. She sighed and shook it away. Gabriella was her friend and she couldn't help it if Ryan had feelings for her. Heck, she didn't even know. No, she refused to be jealous of Gabby or at least refused to let effect their friendship. The scene ended and Ms. Darbus went up on stage to give Ryan and Gabriella her notes on what needed to improve. Once she had spoken to them she turned around and dismissed the cast. Out of the corner of her eye Kelsi saw Luke head down the steps that lead from the stage to the house.

"Luke!" She called after him.

He turned with a smile, "Yeah, Kels?"

"Can we talk?" She asked.

"Of course," he said as he waited on Kelsi to join him. The two of them walked toward the back of the auditorium and sat down in a more secluded corner.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Ryan asked Gabriella as he motioned after Kelsi and Luke.

Gabriella quirked an eyebrow at him, "You haven't heard?"

"Heard, what?" He asked.

"Luke asked her out," Gabriella said with a smile. "They're really adorable."

"He what?"

"I can't believe Kelsi didn't tell you," Gabriella said suspiciously.

"She said he was flirty, but that's it," Ryan said in confusion.

"He's a bit more than flirty," Gabriella chuckled.

Ryan craned his neck in an effort to see Kelsi and Luke, but it was a little too dark for him to see. Gabriella watched Ryan with a smirk. He was very curious almost too curious. She noticed a determined gleam in his eye as he turned and headed backstage. She watched as Ryan approached a series of switches and knobs installed in the wall. He squinted at the labels until he found the dial he wanted. Gabriella was NOT surprised when the house lights came on. She held back a laugh as Ryan came back out onto the stage and glanced out at the seats. Kelsi looked back up at Ryan in confusion.

"Do you need something, Ryan?" She asked.

"Me? No, no I don't need anything. Ms. D just asked me to turn on the lights," he lied.

"Why would she do that? Rehearsal is over, she likes the house lights off as soon as we're done," Luke called back in confusion.

Ryan huffed lightly before faking a smile in their direction, "Right, my bad, I must have misunderstood. I'll go turn them off."

As he walked off stage Gabriella followed him.

"What was that?" She asked.

"What was what?" He asked cluelessly.

"The house lights thing," Gabriella said with a knowing look. "You KNOW Ms. Darbus HATES to leave the lights on."

He sighed, "I just wanted-"

"To ruin the mood for Kelsi and Luke?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, no, I just-"

"Wanted to see if they were making out?"

He glared at Gabriella, "No, that's-"

"Oh, you wanted to keep them from being alone together?"

"I give up," Ryan stated as he ignored Gabriella and walked off stage.

"Oh, come on, Ryan. What's going on here? I thought you and Kelsi were just friends?"

"We are!" He yelled in frustration as he kept on walking. Gabriella stopped following him and chuckled as she watched him go.

"That's what you think, Evans," She smiled.

* * *

"What was that about?" Luke asked her.

She shrugged, "He probably really did misunderstand. Why else would he turn on the lights?"

"I don't know, it seemed like he was trying to spy on us or something," Luke said thoughtfully.

"Ryan? Spy on us? Why?"

"Maybe he likes you?"

"If Jason had been the one to turn on the lights I would agree with you, but it was Ryan-"

"And he's caught up in Gabriella-Land. Yeah, I've noticed," Luke nodded. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Um, well I've been thinking about your question," She said.

"The question in which I asked you out to dinner and movie?" He said with an amused grin.

"Yes, that one. I'm not sure it's a good idea. I mean I do like you, but well…there's this guy and I'm definitely not over him. Heck, I have a feeling this crush is just getting started actually and I don't think it's fair to you if I-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Luke said with a soft smile. "So you like me, but you're still feeling this other guy…okay, then let's make a deal."

"A deal? What kind of a deal?" She asked curiously.

He smiled, "Every Friday you let me drive you home, and once we get to your house you can tell me whether or not you're ready to date me. That way whenever you are or if you ever are I'll at least know something about you."

She bit her bottom lip as she considered it. It seemed relatively safe, and besides that meant one less day she had to ride the bus or scrounge up a ride, "Okay, deal."

He nodded, "Okay, I'll see you Friday then?"

"Of course," She said with a relieved sigh. He left and Kelsi couldn't resist watching him go. Should she really be moping around waiting for Ryan to realize she's alive? Who's to say he ever would? Besides Luke was a very nice guy, and she definitely had more than friendly feelings toward him. They weren't quite as strong as what she felt for Ryan, but he didn't leave her with that sisterly feeling like Jason did either. Kelsi gathered up her stuff and headed toward the front of the school. She cursed at herself when she realized that she had completely forgotten to ask someone to hang around and give her a ride. She groaned as she reached the front doors.

"Great," She said sarcastically.

"Need a ride, Kels?" Ryan asked. She jumped in surprise and turned toward him.

"What are you still doing here?" She asked.

"I left my notebook in my locker and had to go back and get it," He told her. "So, do you need a ride?"

She smiled gratefully, "Yes, actually, I do."

"C'mon, I'll take you home," He offered as he motioned for her to follow him.

"You didn't ride with Sharpay?" Kelsi asked.

"Got my own ride last week. It's not a Mustang or anything, but I like it," He grinned as he stopped by a blue Vespa.

She chuckled, "This is yours?"

He nodded, "It's very eco-friendly of me, don't you think?"

She smiled and nodded, "Extremely eco-friendly."

He handed her the spare helmet that he kept with him just in case. She put it on and buckled the strap. She couldn't help but suspect that she looked terrible in the helmet. Ryan turned and smiled at the sight of Kelsi with the plain white helmet on.

He chuckled, "Cute."

Her eyebrows shot upward, "Really?"

"Definitely," He said as he got on the Vespa and motioned for Kelsi to get on behind him. "You should wear one of your first date with Luke."

Before Kelsi could tell him that there was no date Ryan started the Vespa and took off. She wrapped her arms around his middle to brace herself from the unexpected burst forward. She took a deep breath and decided to tell him anyway.

"Ryan," She said loud enough so he could hear her over the buzzing of the wind and street noise. "There is no date with Luke…not yet anyway. He's just taking me home on Fridays."

"But you're not dismissing the possibility of a date in the future?" He asked back. He took a sharp turn and Kelsi tightened her grip around his chest.

"I was taught never to dismiss any possibility," Kelsi told him.

For some reason that comment made Ryan's stomach knot up. There was no date, but she hadn't really said no. Why did that bother him? They were friends, that's all. He knew that, and she knew that. Besides he was currently harboring a pointless crush on Gabriella Montez. Why hadn't she told him Luke had asked her out? Why did it bother him that she didn't? And WHY did he turn those damn house lights on earlier? What was he hoping to accomplish by doing that?

"Ryan!"

He shook his thoughts away at the sound of Kelsi's voice, "Yeah?"

"You missed my house," She told him.

"Oh! Sorry about that. I'll turn around," He said as he silently cursed himself.

_What_ was his _problem_?


	22. The Ride Home

**

* * *

The Ride Home

* * *

  
**

From her desk in Ms. Darbus's classroom Kelsi studied the score and the things that Darbus had shortened or cut and then made her own necessary changes and notes. She was too caught up in her work to notice her classmates walking in and taking their seats. Ryan attempted to wave as he passed by but Kelsi was still focused on the music in front of her. He shrugged it off and sat down in his usual seat behind his sister.

"Hey, Kels," Jason said as he passed her on his way to his own seat. She mumbled a response, but did not look up. Suddenly there was a tap on her shoulder, and Kelsi looked up to see Luke standing in front of her. He gave her an amused crooked smile and waved.

"Oh! Hi!" She said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to make sure you remembered our deal since its Friday," Luke reminded her.

She smiled at him, "Of course I remember."

"Good," He said with a nod. "I'll see you at rehearsal. Oh! And…I found something the other day that reminded me of you."

She arched an eyebrow at him curiously, "You did?"

He nodded and placed a white gift bag on her desk.

"You got me a present?" She asked warily.

He chuckled, "Don't worry it's not a boyfriend-girlfriend thing. It's a friend thing."

She slowly opened it and pulled out a black beret. She smiled brightly up at him, "This is so great!"

"You like it?" He asked.

"Like it? It's perfect for my opening night outfit!" She said excitedly. "Thank you so much!"

She stood and gave him a quick hug. He blushed slightly as they pulled apart.

"Like I said it's no big deal. I saw it and it reminded me of you so I bought it," He smiled.

"Well, I love it," She said happily.

"I'm glad to hear it. I better get out of here. I'm probably going to be late for homeroom, and you know Mr. Everhart will _love_ that," He told her as waved good bye and dashed out of the door. Kelsi watched him go with a huge smile. He got her a hat! That's quite possibly her favorite type of present ever!

Martha leaned across Troy's vacant desk, "Wow, he's really knows his audience."

Kelsi chuckled and turned to her friend, "I know! I was looking at a beret just like this the other day!"

They continued to chat excitedly and gush about Luke and the hat while Ryan seethed quietly from his seat. He was still very confused about what was going on with him where Kelsi was concerned, but every time he thought about Luke and Kelsi being alone together he felt like yelling at some one. Jason had noticed Ryan paying close attention to Luke and Kelsi's interaction. He was intrigued by the way Ryan had tensed up the minute Luke entered the room, and then when Kelsi pulled that hat of the bag Ryan quickly looked away and turned toward the window. Even now that Luke had left his expression was still very guarded.

He scoffed softly, and Kelsi tried to tell him that Ryan didn't have feelings for her. He shook his head at Kelsi's ignorance. There was definitely something there…between BOTH of them. Jason made a thoughtful noise from the back of the room. This reminded him of One Tree Hill (which he continued to claim was his _sister's_ favorite show not his). This situation was very dramatic. It would make for a decent film. His eyes widened and he grinned brightly as he got an idea. Ms. Darbus entered the room and set down her things on her desk. Jason quickly approached her.

"Ms. Darbus?"

She sighed, "Yes, Jason I have had a wonderful morning. Thank you for asking."

"Um, actually, I came up here to ask if I could film 'Singing in the Rain' rehearsals. Kind of like a documentary?"

Ms. Darbus appeared surprised, "Oh! Of course you can, Mr. Cross. I think that's a very fine idea."

"Really?" He asked excitedly.

"Really," Ms. Darbus told him with an amused smile. "Can you start today?"

He nodded vigorously, "Definitely!"

"Good, rehearsals starts in the auditorium at four," She informed him with a smile.

"Awesome! Thanks, Ms. D!" He said. "I mean…Ms. Darbus."

"It's alright, Jason. You can call me Ms. D if you would like," She added with a chuckle as he headed back to his seat.

Jason sat down with a large smile on his face. He had a feeling this documentary was going to be amazing.

"Hey, Playmaker," Troy said to Kelsi pleasantly as he sat down.

"Hey yourself," She told him with a smile.

He motioned to the gift bag and the beret, "New hat? Let me guess…from Ryan?"

She gave him a strange look, "No, from Luke. Why would you think Ryan would give me a hat?"

Troy's eyes widened. He probably shouldn't be the one to state the obvious to her, "Um, well I mean…he IS the hat guy, and you guys ARE friends."

"Okay," She said with a confused expression.

"Anyway," Troy started. "I was wondering if I could get your advice about something."

"Me?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's something that the guys wouldn't know what to do with…"

"Ah, its Gabby related?" She asked with a smirk.

"Exactly," Troy told her. "Do you mind if we talk in the courtyard during free period?"

"Of course not," She told him pleasantly. "I'll meet you there."

"Thanks, Kels. I appreciate it," Troy said before picking Kelsi's new hat up off of her desk. "So Luke gave you this, huh?"

She nodded, "He said he saw it and thought of me."

"So, I guess that means you guys are going out on a date?"

"I don't know," She answered honestly. "I'm still thinking about it."

Troy smiled at her, "Well, if you do go out on a date with him you better tell him to behave himself. If he steps out of line he'll probably have the entire basketball team after him."

Kelsi laughed, "I'll make sure he knows."

* * *

Troy met Kelsi by the doorway that led outside into the courtyard at the beginning of free period and the two of them stepped into the grassy area.

"So, what's up?" She asked.

"I know that shows take up a lot of time and are a lot of work, and I'm glad that Gabriella is so passionate about this show, but I feel like I rarely ever see her anymore. And I know that once Tech rehearsals start I'll be lucky to see her for five minutes let alone for a date. So what I wanted to ask you was-"

"How I thought you could spend more time with her without coming off as a possessive jerk? Right?"

"Exactly," He told her. "Any ideas?"

She nodded, "When Zeke wanted to spend more time with Sharpay during Twinkle Town what did he do?"

"He joined the stage crew," Troy said. "You think I should join the stage crew?"

She nodded again, "Not only would you see her more, but you would be there to offer her your support when things get really crazy."

"Why didn't I think of that sooner?" He asked rhetorically.

"As Taylor would say…you're a lunkhead basketball boy. That's all the explanation you'll ever need," She smirked.

"That was cold, Nielson," Troy said with a playful glare. "Just for that I should tell Chad that Luke needs a beat down."

Her eyes widened and she smacked his shoulder, "You wouldn't!"

"Watch me!" He yelled with a grin as he ran back inside and took off for the gym.

"Troy! Don't you dare!" Kelsi yelled as she sped after him. "Troy!"

* * *

"I am so sorry!" Kelsi apologized as she and Luke made their way to his car after rehearsals.

He chuckled, "No harm done, Kels. Troy told them it was all a joke once they had me cornered. It was actually pretty funny."

"Being threateningly surrounded by basketball players was funny?" She asked in confusion.

"No, but watching your face as it happened was," He grinned.

"You are just as bad as Troy," She said as she swatted his shoulder. He smiled and opened her door for her.

"Thank you," She said in surprise and appreciation. He nodded and then walked around to his side. Once was they were both seated he started the car and they headed toward her house.

"So, what was Jason doing at rehearsals?" Luke asked her.

"He's decided to film a documentary about the show," Kelsi told him. "He said the idea just came to him in home room this morning."

"Of all the things for him to do a documentary of he chose our show?" Luke asked with a grin. "I wonder why."

She shrugged, "He told me during Twinkle Town once that he should have brought his camera. A set piece almost squashed Sharpay and he thought it was the coolest thing he had ever seen."

Luke laughed, "Oh, I remember that. That was pretty awesome. Well, I'm sure once Sharpay realizes that she's supporting cast Jason will have some awesome temper tantrum footage for his film."

"I'm hoping she won't be as dramatic about this show as she was about 'Twinkle Town'. For Ryan's sake at the very least," She chuckled.

"Speaking of Ryan…did you notice him acting strangely at rehearsal today?"

"I did. He barely ever _looked _in my direction today, and he seemed very…apathetic," Kelsi said with a conflicted sigh. "Even Sharpay looked confused over his mood."

"I know," Luke said. "He didn't say a word to me unless it was in the script. Usually he's very talkative."

"Maybe something happened with Gabriella," Kelsi said worriedly. "I tried to tell him he would get hurt. Maybe I should call him tonight and see what's up."

"I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe he just had a bad day. I'm sure he would have told you if it was anything about Gabriella, Kels," Luke told her comfortingly.

"I hope so," She said as they pulled into her driveway.

"So," Luke said expectantly. "Have you thought about my question?"

She smiled shyly at him, "I have."

"And?"

"I guess…it wouldn't hurt to go on a date," She told him happily.

He smiled brightly at her, "Next Friday? Dinner and a movie?"

She nodded, "That sounds great."

"Awesome," He said. "I'll see you Monday, Kels."

She smiled at him and bit her bottom lip lightly, "Yeah, I'll see you Monday."

She stood in the drive way and waved to him as he drove off. Once he turned the corner she ran inside and dialed Martha's number. She needed someone to gush and celebrate with.


	23. Teamwork

**

* * *

Teamwork

* * *

  
**

Kelsi sat down beside of Taylor in the Common area during free period on Monday.

"Hey Kels, I heard you've got a hot date this Friday," Taylor said with a smile.

She smiled excitedly, "I most certainly do."

Taylor chuckled, "The smile on your face tells me that you really like this guy."

"Morning, ladies," Troy interrupted as he sat down in between them. Taylor gave him an odd look.

"Good morning, Troy. Anything in particular you need?" Taylor asked with an amused smile.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Troy said. "I need you two to help my trick Chad into signing up for Stage Crew."

Kelsi laughed, "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. If it's just me and the rest of the Drama Club…I'll go insane. I mean those two interpretive movement kids…scare the crap out of me," Troy told them urgently.

Kelsi smirked, "Tawni and Eric are harmless, Troy."

"Really? Cause I'm not so sure," Troy told her. "I mean the guy has a spiked collar. We're talkin' BIG spikes, not the little wimpy square ones."

"If we help you will you shut up about the spiked collar?" Taylor asked him with a chuckle.

"And I'll treat the two of you to Starbucks after school," Troy pleaded.

Taylor thought about it for a second before shaking Troy's hand, "It's a deal."

He glanced to Kelsi questioningly. She smiled and nodded, "I'm in."

"Great," Troy said excitedly as he spotted Chad. "Here he comes."

Taylor stood and hugged Chad as he came to a stop in front of them, "Morning, Lunkhead."

Chad looked surprised, "You're in a good mood."

"There's a statistics test today," She said happily.

He nodded as if everything made since, "Right."

"So, Dude, what are you doing after school today?" Troy asked casually.

He shrugged, "Probably detention. I heard Darbus is crazed today."

"Yeah, she can't find enough good help for Stage Crew," Kelsi said. That statement was only half true. She had a lot of help for stage crew…but most of them could barely lift a stool.

"Oh great, so I'm gonna get detention because there's not enough Drama Geeks to carry sets?" Chad asked.

"Hey, man, there is a way that you could avoid detention," Troy told him.

"How?" Chad asked.

"Join stage crew," Troy answered.

"Are you kidding me? Trade one detention for painting sets, lifting furniture, and never ending Darbus rants? I don't think so…definitely not worth it."

Kelsi raised an eyebrow at him, "You really think it will be just _one_ detention? If Ms. Darbus doesn't get enough help she'll be crazed _every_ day not just today."

His eyes widened in horror, "Really?"

Kelsi nodded, "Unfortunately."

Chad looked conflicted, "So, I'll probably be getting detention a lot in the future."

"And you'll be seeing less of me," Taylor added casually.

"What?" He asked urgently.

"I didn't tell you? I volunteered to be stage manager," Taylor told him.

"You what?" Chad asked.

"Gabriella begged me to, and being the good friend that I am I told her I would."

"Are ALL of my friends working on this show? Jason's filming rehearsals, Kelsi's directing the student orchestra, Gabriella is starring in it, Troy is working backstage, and now YOU'RE the stage manager. What am I gonna do while you guys are at rehearsal?"

"Hang out with Zeke?" Troy suggested.

"Yeah, I'll stand by and watch him bake things for Sharpay and he'll smack my hand for attempting to eat something I shouldn't. That sounds like a fun time," Chad said sarcastically. He sighed and turned toward Troy, "I'll do it. I'll join stage crew. Where's the list?"

Troy pointed to the drama club billboard and then mouthed "Thank you" to both Taylor and Kelsi. Kelsi turned to Taylor.

"Are you really stage manager?" Kelsi whispered.

"You know anybody else better qualified than me?" Taylor asked with a cocky smirk.

Kelsi chuckled, "Definitely not."

Kelsi and Taylor watched in amusement and Zeke joined Chad and Troy at the Drama Club billboard.

Kelsi chuckled and shook her head, "He'll use any excuse he can find to be around Sharpay."

Taylor grinned and nodded in agreement.

* * *

"So, everybody but me is involved in the show?" Martha asked Kelsi later as the two of them and Jason headed to the music room during free period.

"I-I guess," Kelsi told her.

"Great, so what should I do?" Martha asked.

"Um, I have no idea," Kelsi said sympathetically.

"You could help me with my documentary," Jason suggested quietly. Martha turned and smiled at him.

"Really?" She asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, It would be nice to have someone else's opinion on what shots to use."

"I'd be happy to help you, Jase. Thanks!" Martha said with a bright smile.

He shrugged, "It's no problem."

"Wow, I never thought ALL of you guys would be involved in the show in some way, shape, or form," Kelsi said in shock. "This is exciting."

Jason and Martha smiled at Kelsi in amusement and chuckled.

* * *

Troy decided to sit in on rehearsals today. They still had another two weeks until tech rehearsals started, and he was anxious to see a little bit of the show. Today they were working on a "Good Morning", and Ryan was currently running through the more difficult sections with Gabriella. Troy watched their interactions with curiosity. He suddenly realized why Kelsi thought it was so ridiculous that Ryan would have feelings for her.

Ryan had a crush on Gabriella. It was painfully obvious. He was nervous, a little klutzier, and even a little flirty. Troy couldn't help but grin at Gabriella's reactions. She was extremely clueless. He chuckled to himself. If Ryan wanted to have a crush on his girlfriend then it was okay with him.

It didn't change the fact that Gabriella was still _his_ girlfriend.

And besides he had a feeling everyone's favorite composer was about to rock Ryan's world. Troy was willing to bet even money that Ryan would forget all about Gabriella once he heard about Kelsi's upcoming date with Luke.


	24. Bad Timing

**

* * *

Bad Timing  


* * *

  
**

Kelsi jumped as Taylor slammed her books down on Kelsi's table in the library that Friday morning. Kelsi couldn't help but grin when Taylor began to mumble about "the curly headed promise breaker".

"Trouble in paradise, Tay?" Kelsi asked.

"Fro Boy canceled our date," Taylor told her curtly. "Our date that was supposed to happen LAST weekend."

"Canceled? Why did he cancel?" Kelsi asked.

"Because his dad won't lend him the car," Taylor huffed as she sat down in her seat. "I swear if he doesn't have a car this time next year-"

"You'll what?" Kelsi asked curiously.

"I honestly have no idea," Taylor told her. "What possessed me to date a jock? Do you know?"

Kelsi chuckled, "The curls? I mean they are the first thing you notice when you look at him."

Taylor smirked, "The curls ARE very nice. I have to admit. You know what this means don't you?"

Kelsi looked at her expectantly.

"This means that your date has to go exceedingly well so that we can discuss it and I can date vicariously through you," Taylor told her. "Oh my gosh! I just had a brilliant idea! We should have a girls night tomorrow night! We can have it at my house. You, me, Gabby, and Martha. It will be so much fun! I can freely complain about the Curly Headed Menace."

"If you really want to complain about him that badly we could have a girl lunch today," Kelsi suggested.

"Oh, that's much better. I don't have to wait until tomorrow," Taylor said with a nod. "But I still think that a girls night tomorrow night would be fun."

"I'm up for it," Kelsi agreed. "But I'm also up for the lunch. I need outfit advice before the date."

"I'll tell Gabriella and Martha in Calculus later," Taylor promised. "Shouldn't you be in the auditorium for free period rehearsals?"

"No, Today Ryan wanted to work with Gabby and Luke on the rest of the choreography for 'Good Morning'," Kelsi told her. "My presence is not required for that."

* * *

"We're still not getting it exactly right," Ryan snapped as he gave Luke a side glance. "I think we need to stay after rehearsals today and work on it some more."

"Sorry, dude, but that's not possible for me. I have a date to get ready for," Luke told him.

"Oh that's right your date…with Kelsi," Ryan said as he looked away from Luke and glared at the floor.

"Yeah," Luke said with a smile. "My date with Kelsi."

Gabriella sighed, "I think we're done for right now."

Ryan looked at her with surprise, "No we're not. We still have a lot to work on-"

"No, we don't Ryan," Gabriella told him with a shake of her head. "We need to talk. You can go Luke."

"Thanks," Luke told her with a strange glance. "I told Kelsi I'd meet her in the Common area before free period ended."

Ryan looked up and was about to open his mouth to say something, but Gabriella interrupted him.

"Well, go ahead. Have fun!" Gabriella said as she practically shoved Luke out the door. Once he was out the door Ryan glared at her.

"What was that about?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes, "You were being a jerk to him. Even when he got the moves right you told him they were wrong! And then you wanted him to stay AFTER rehearsals today when you KNEW he had a date with Kelsi tonight. And I'm willing to bet you KNEW he was supposed to meet her in a few minutes too."

"So what if I did?" He asked.

"Do you know how angry with you Kelsi would be if she were here?" Gabriella asked. "How angry at you she would have been for ruining her date tonight?"

He sighed, "I don't like it."

"Don't like what? Luke? Kelsi?"

"I don't like Luke _dating_ Kelsi. Luke's fine when he's not with Kelsi or talking about her, and Kelsi…"

Gabriella's frustrated frown became a small smile when she noticed Ryan's tone soften.

"Kelsi's what?" She asked.

"I don't know…okay? I just don't know," Ryan told her in frustration.

"You're jealous," Gabriella grinned.

"No, I'm not," He told her.

"Yes, you are. The way you're acting right now, and the way you've been treating Luke…you're jealous. Don't tell me you're not because somewhere in the head of yours you know that you are. You just have to admit it to yourself," Gabriella told him.

"I can't be jealous! Because that would mean that I-"

"Like Kelsi," Gabriella finished for him.

"Exactly, but the thing is I've already got a crush on you! So, how is it possible to have a crush on you AND be jealous of Luke?" He said frustrated as he began to pace.

Gabriella looked surprised by that news, but continued anyway, "Because I don't think you do have a crush on me. I think_ you think_ you have a crush on me when really you just couldn't admit to yourself who you _really_ had a crush on. I mean this isn't the first time you've acted like this. Well, you are acting a bit more extreme than last time, but it was the same concept."

"What are you talking about?" Ryan asked her.

"I remember when all those rumors were going around about Kelsi and Jason earlier this semester, and I also remember you acting very strangely then too," Gabriella said as she made her way to an empty stool. "So I'm gonna sit right here while you think about that for a bit."

He stared at Gabriella in confusion for a few minutes and then began pacing again. Gabriella watched him in amusement as he struggled.

He stopped pacing and stared at Gabriella again, "Are you trying to tell me that all this time…I've had a crush on Kelsi and not realized it?"

Gabriella smiled brightly at him, "Took you long enough!"

"Oh no, I've got a crush on Kelsi! When did that happen?" He asked himself in confusion. "And how did I not know it? I think I need to sit down."

Gabriella chuckled and offered him her stool, "I'm guessing you're not confused anymore?"

"I'm still confused…just about completely different things. I mean why couldn't I have realized this earlier? When Kelsi _wasn't_ dating anybody? I mean you couldn't have knocked some sense into me _then?_" He asked her.

"I didn't really know you then, Ryan. If you recall we rarely talked until auditions for this show started," Gabriella told him gently.

He sighed in a forlorn manner, "Well, _now_ what do I do?"

"The only thing you can do," Gabriella told him. "Be a friend, and _not_ a jerk. I'm positive that your time with Kelsi will come, but in the mean time I wouldn't try anything stupid like ruining her date with Luke that she's _very_ excited about."

Ryan sighed, "I have _terrible_ timing."

Gabriella chuckled and gave Ryan a small sympathetic hug, "Yeah, you really do, Ry."

* * *

When the girls all gathered for lunch the first thing that was brought up was what Kelsi should where on her date. Gabriella had never seen Kelsi so excited about anything that wasn't music related. Gabriella chuckled at her friends as they all seriously considered what they knew of Kelsi's wardrobe.

Martha tilted her head to the side as she thought, "Do you have any teal?"

"I have a teal vest," Kelsi answered.

"Oh! Is that the one with the gray pinstripe back?" Taylor asked.

Kelsi nodded.

"Okay, then you should where that gray t-shirt you have that's got the light pink peace sign on it. That shirt and that vest together will look so cute," Taylor told her.

Gabriella nodded, "And you should wear those teal plaid Bermuda shorts you wore last week."

"We totally just put together a really cute outfit without even needing to look at Kelsi's wardrobe," Martha said in amazement. "We are _good_."

Kelsi smiled at her friends, "Thanks guys. I'm so nervous."

"Aw, Kelsi you are too cute," Gabriella said with a chuckle. "You'll be fine. Luke really likes you. You have nothing to worry about."

"Oh my gosh! I need a hat to go with that outfit! Which hat?" She asked frantically.

"The one he gave you! The black beret! That would be really cute!" Martha suggested.

"Wow, that's a really cute outfit," Kelsi said as she mentally pictured what the girls had picked out for her. "And it's totally me. The last you guys picked something out for me I ended up looking a little too much like Sharpay."

Taylor winced, "That definitely wasn't one of our finer moments."

"So, what's this Kelsi tells me about a girl's night?" Martha asked.

Gabriella perked up excitedly, "A girl's night! We're having a girl's night?"

Taylor nodded, "At my house on Saturday night."

Gabriella looked at Taylor in confusion, "Don't you and Chad have a date Saturday night?"

Taylor rolled her eyes and glared at her boyfriend from across the cafeteria, "No, we do not."

"Uh oh," Gabriella said with a wince. "He canceled two weeks in a row?"

"Is it terrible that I want to yank out ALL of those curls no matter how adorable they are?" Taylor asked the girls as she stabbed a fork into her salad.

* * *

_I CAN FINALLY POST THIS THING! I've been trying to post this update since SUNDAY! _

_I hope you guys liked it! Reviews are love._


	25. The Weekend

**

* * *

The Weekend

* * *

  
**

"So, what are the plans for tonight, Mr. Conrad?" Kelsi asked as Luke held the car door open for her.

He cleared his throat nervously, "Okay, this may sound very middle schooler-ish, but I was thinking...bowling? We don't have to eat at the bowling alley I just thought it would be something fun to do, and I thought maybe we could go see a movie later. They're showing 'Roberta' and 'Shall We Dance' at the Nickelodeon this weekend."

Kelsi's eyes widened, "You've _heard_ of 'Roberta'?"

He chuckled, "It's my favorite Fred & Ginger musical."

She smiled brightly at him, "I _really like_ a guy who's man enough to admit he likes musicals."

"I'm _in_ one, aren't I? Of course, I like them," He told her as she sat down.

"You would _think_ that's how it should work, but it doesn't. Look at Troy Bolton. He was in a musical and yet he _still_ can't admit that he _enjoys_ watching them," Kelsi told him.

He nodded, "Very true. Well, Ms. Nielson, I'm telling you now that anytime you feel like watching a musical I will gladly and proudly watch it with you."

"You do know your audience," Kelsi said with a smile as he closed the passenger side door. Luke ran around and got in the car.

"So, are you okay with the plan?" Luke asked.

"Sure, it sounds fun, but I have to warn you…I SUCK at bowling. I mean my klutzy habits don't normally mesh well with the activity of throwing heavy bowling balls. The last time I went bowling I accidentally broke my dad's nose," Kelsi told him as she winced at the memory.

Luke's eyes widened and he nodded slowly, "Right, don't be offended if I keep my distance during your turn."

Kelsi laughed as he started the car, "Oh and also we have to get chili cheese fries as soon as we get there. I don't go to the bowling alley without ordering some."

Luke gave Kelsi an impressed once over, "Oh man, no wonder I like you so much."

* * *

Kelsi swallowed nervously as she stepped up to bowl. All she had to do was make sure she didn't throw the ball behind her or throw it into another lane. Once at her cousin's birthday party she made a bowling ball skip five lanes, and yet she still didn't hit ONE pin. She took a deep breath and went for it. She squealed as the ball slipped out of her fingers and hit the floor behind her with a very loud thud. She shut her eyes tightly and bit her bottom lip.

"Sorry!" She cried as she sucked in a breath. She calmed down a bit when she heard Luke laugh affectionately. She turned to face him and he smiled at her.

"You weren't kidding about being klutzy were you?"

"I wish," She told him with a shy smile.

"Just relax, Kels," He said warmly. "You're thinking about it too much. Try again."

She picked up the ball and poised herself to bowl again. This time she released the ball into the lane. She still didn't hit a pin, but at least she didn't hit a person. She laughed excitedly and hugged Luke as the ball crept down the lane.

"See, just try to have fun. Heck you can granny bowl if you want to. I don't care," Luke chuckled as he hugged her back. "As long as you keep on hugging me after every turn I'm good."

She rolled her eyes and playfully smacked his shoulder as she pulled away.

* * *

They pulled up outside of her house at about eleven. They had gone to the Nickelodeon, the vintage movie theater in town, after they had finished up a second game. Now the date was over, and Kelsi found herself disappointed that the night was coming to an end.

She shook her head, "That is why I don't go bowling all that often."

He laughed, "You weren't that bad! You broke fifty."

"I know enough about bowling to know that barely breaking fifty is very very sad," She grinned. "At least I got free chili cheese fries out of it."

"Is that all I am to you? The wallet that paid for your chili cheese fries?"

"No," She smirked. "You're also the wallet that paid for the movies, the dinner, and all the bowling."

He glared at her playfully, "Gee, thanks."

She giggled at him as he crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, "Tonight was fun, Luke. Thanks for this."

He smiled brightly at her, "Believe me, it was my pleasure."

He got out of the car and walked around to open the door for her, "I'll walk you to your door."

She nodded as they began to walk.

He swallowed nervously, "I was wondering if you maybe wanted to do this again some time?"

"I would _love_ to do this again," Kelsi answered immediately.

"Great!" He yelled excitedly. His eyes widened and he cleared his throat, "I mean…cool."

Kelsi shook her head and laughed at him as they reached her front porch.

"So, same time next week?" He asked.

She nodded and smiled, "It's a date."

"Okay, I'll see you at school on Monday then," He said just before he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Good night, Kelsi."

She waved to him as he walked back to his car, and called after him.

"Good night, Luke!"

He turned and waved before he got into his car and drove away. Kelsi sighed and hummed happily as she entered her living room. Her mom chuckled at her as she dreamily flopped down on the couch.

"Good date?" She asked.

Kelsi beamed at her mother, "It was a _great_ date."

"I'm glad to hear it. He seems very nice," Mrs. Nielson said.

"What did dad think?" Kelsi asked curiously.

"He liked him," Mrs. Nielson said simply.

"Meaning he thought he was 'okay', but nowhere near good enough?"

Mrs. Nielson laughed, "Honey, your father is _never_ going to think _anyone_ is good enough for you. You're his little girl. Just accept that fact now."

* * *

"Okay, so we've got chocolate chip cookie dough, Doritos, Rocky Road ice cream, Oreos, and last but not least Reese's Cups. A junk food paradise," Taylor said as she motioned to the food that was spread out on top of the table cloth that covered the family's pool table.

The girls were gathered in Taylor's basement which had been set up with the old entertainment system that used to be upstairs. There were two very large sofas caddy cornered together behind where they stood in front of the pool table. The sofas faced the television, and the girls had set up blankets and pillows all across the floor. There was a knock at the basement door, and Taylor's mom came down the stairs with a massive bowl of popcorn.

"I thought you girls might need this," She said as she set it down next to the Doritos.

"Thanks mom," Taylor said with a smile.

"No problem, sweetie. Your father and I will be upstairs if you need us. Have fun, ladies," Mrs. McKessie said with a smile as she headed back up the stairs.

"First order of business," Taylor said once she heard the door close. "We get the dirt on Kelsi's date, and then we watch 'Win a Date with Tad Hamilton'."

Kelsi opened her mouth to speak but before she could say anything Martha shoved a couple of Oreos into her mouth and placed the bowl of popcorn into hands.

"Over to the blankets before you tell us _anything_. We have to have the appropriate atmosphere," Martha told her as she turned her around and lightly pushed her toward the blankets and pillows that they had set up. Once they all sat down and got comfortable Gabriella turned to Kelsi.

"Okay, now…spill, girl," Gabriella told her.

Kelsi blushed lightly, "It wasn't really a big deal."

"Oh, look she's turning pink. That's a sign that it went well," Taylor smirked.

"What did you guys do?" Martha asked.

"We went bowling and then went to see a couple of Fred and Ginger musicals at the Nickelodeon. Nothing major," She said with a bright smile.

"Fred and what musicals?" Taylor asked.

"Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. They were famous dance partners who made several musicals together," Kelsi told her.

"Woah, so he took you to see a musical? At a public place?" Taylor asked with a grin. "Sounds like he's perfect for you."

"I don't know about perfect…but he is certainly very wonderful," Kelsi giggled.

"Are you guys going out again?" Gabriella asked curiously.

"Next Friday," Kelsi said happily. "Do you guys realize what's happening here?"

"What?" Gabriella asked with a chuckle.

"A guy I like actually likes ME back. That's never happened to me before…EVER."

"Who have you liked that hasn't liked you back?" Taylor asked.

Kelsi sighed and shrugged, "Lots of people."

"But who's the most recent?" Taylor continued with a quirked eyebrow.

Gabriella glanced knowingly at Kelsi as she bit her lip nervously.

"Ryan Evans," She said shyly.

"You liked Ryan? How did I not notice this?" Martha asked the group rhetorically.

"I knew," Gabriella announced with a raised hand.

"You did?" Kelsi, Taylor, and Martha asked her simultaneously.

"Troy and I figured it out at that choreography rehearsal for Twinkle Town," Gabriella told Kelsi with a grin.

Kelsi grinned dreamily, "That's how Troy knew! It was the waltz, right? Totally gave me away didn't?"

Gabriella nodded, "You were a total goner."

"You've had a crush on Ryan for THAT long?" Martha asked. "And you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't see the point in telling you. Nothing was going to happen anyway," Kelsi sighed.

"So, you're over your crush on Ryan then?" Taylor asked suspiciously.

"Not completely. Honestly I don't think I'll ever be _completely_ over that crush, but I wasn't going to sit around and wait for something that wasn't going to happen," She told them. "And besides, I really like Luke. He's sweet, and fun, and talented, and likes musicals-"

Gabriella cleared her throat, "Does that sound like anyone else we know to you?"

Kelsi growled in frustration, "I am NOT dating Luke for his similarities to Ryan, okay? He and Ryan are very different."

"How?" Gabriella asked in an unconvincing tone.

"Well, um…Luke is…WAY better at comedy than Ryan."

Taylor and Martha chuckled at her.

"Sweet heart, that's a performance difference not a personality difference," Taylor told her with a grin.

"Ugh, they're just DIFFERENT, alright?" Kelsi exclaimed. "Can we change the subject please?"

"Okay," Taylor said as they all exchanged meaningful looks. "I think now is a good time to watch 'Win a Date'."


	26. Singin' in the Rain

**

* * *

Singin' in the Rain

* * *

  
**

Three weeks later and opening night was finally upon them. Tech rehearsals had gone fairly smoothly. She'd had to drop one of her flutists from the orchestra, but the other two had been sure to balance everything out. They had warmed up and tuned their instruments about fifteen minutes before the doors opened. Kelsi was about to head down to the orchestra pit when Luke stopped her.

"Kels!"

She turned and gave him a stern look, "Aren't you supposed to be in 'places' right now?"

He chuckled, "Always thinking about the show. I just wanted to say break a leg and get my good luck kiss."

He stuck out his chin and pointed to his cheek.

She giggled and placed a lingering kiss on his cheek, "Break a leg."

"Thank you, and now I'll be heading to my place," He said with a wink as he rushed off.

She made sure her musicians were in place before she headed toward the pit from across the floor of the house. The follow spot followed her to the pit as it had before "Twinkle Town" and the applause began. She paused when she reached her piano and bowed to the audience. She motioned to her orchestra and then sat down in front of her piano. She lifted her arms and then brought them down to start the count. She cued the percussionist and then swiftly brought in the brass section. The actors had until the end of the overture to shake off their nerves and find their places. At the end of the overture the curtain would open and the show would officially begin. As she approached the grand ending of the overture she said a silent prayer for the show and all of it's actors. The curtain swept open and the stage was set to resemble the Grauman's Chinese Theater, and Bethany began to speak her lines. She'd been given the role Dora Bailey.

"Hello out there! This is Dora Bailey talking to you in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. And what a night! Every star is here tonight to make Monumental Pictures' 'The Royal Rascal' the outstanding event of 1927. We are breathlessly awaiting the arrival of it's two great stars: Lina Lamont and Don Lockwood," She announced as Luke approached her, completely in character. "And here's Don's closest friend and confidant, Cosmo Brown. He's the man who plays the piano on the set to get Don and Lina into those romantic moods. Would you like to say a word?"

Luke puffed up his chest proudly and Kelsi couldn't resist grinning at him, "Well, certainly Dora, I'd like-"

"And here they are!" Bethany interrupted. "Oh ladies and gentleman, I wish you could see it! Such a gorgeous couple! It's no wonder they're a household name all over the world like steak and eggs; Lockwood and Lamont. Don, now you can tell me confidentially, are these rumors true that wedding bells are soon to ring for you and Lina?"

Kelsi smiled as Ryan and Sharpay joined the scene. Ryan looked extremely handsome, and Sharpay had never looked more glamorous. Kelsi desperately wanted to laugh at the deliberately cheesy smile on Ryan's face.

"Well, Dora, Lina and I have no statements to make at this time. We're just good friends."

Kelsi put her focus back on the music as the underscoring began to pick up speed. She was directing in two and quickly cued the smooth underscoring for Don's "Dignity" monologue. This was tricky. It had to be timed just right with Ryan's lines. There was a lot of jazz in this portion of the show. They would play a jazz riff and then go silent, and then play another jazz riff. Finally they reached the first number. She motioned to her fiddlers as the number began, and finally felt comfortable enough to lift an eye to the action on stage. Ryan and Luke were perfect with their harmonies and steps. She smiled brightly as she watched them. So far so good.

After that number the show moved on to the short film version of 'The Royal Rascal' which Ms. Darbus had let Jason and Martha work on together. Everyone had been very impressed with the outcome and Kelsi was careful to keep the underscoring at the same pace as Jason's film. She let out a sigh of relief as that part of the show finished. Kelsi couldn't help but crack up with the audience the first time that Sharpay spoke with her accent. It was perfectly annoying and humorous. Gabriella was nearly flawless as Kathy, and the audience took to her as soon as she stepped out on to the stage. Kelsi decided that she couldn't be prouder of her friends than she was at that moment.

But when they reached the moment when Don serenaded Kathy Kelsi had to look away. Watching Ryan moon over Gabriella was still not something she enjoyed. Instead she focused on the music. "You Stepped Out of a Dream" was a beautiful song and would be even if they were no lyrics. So she tuned Ryan out and focused on the instruments. Finally they reached one of Kelsi's favorite moments in the show, and not just because her boyfriend happened to be hilarious in it. "Make 'em Laugh" started and Kelsi found it tough to focus on directing the orchestra. Luke was hilarious and his voice was outstanding. Some of his moves were very impressive as well. He was very acrobatic.

Charlie Kline, the guy who had been Ryan's main competition for Don, had been the person she'd ended up giving the "Beautiful Girl" number to. He had an outstanding voice and definitely deserved the number. After the beautiful girl number came "You Are My Lucky Star" which Gabriella was practically perfect in. She had definitely worked hard to mature her voice for the song. She'd used lots of vibrato and Kelsi thought it came out wonderfully. But once again after that Kelsi had to plunge into the music as "You Were Meant for Me" started. She really should be getting over this by now. She had a boyfriend after all. Well an unofficial boyfriend. They were just a question away from being official. Her chest ached as she listened to Ryan singing the lyrics. A part of her that she had been trying to bury wished desperately that he was singing that song for her.

"_But I'm content. The angels must have sent you, and they meant you just for me,"_ Ryan sang as the song came to an end.

Kelsi sighed, and mentally shook herself. This was not the time for this. The next number quickly came around and she was happy that she could focus on how talented Luke was. She smiled brightly as "Moses" started and Ryan and Luke began their dance. Luke might be the only person in the school who could give Ryan a run for his money. She couldn't help but marvel at the fact that neither Ryan nor Luke's feet seemed to touch the ground for more than a split second. The number came to an end and Kelsi couldn't resist the urge to clap wildly before the reprise of "Moses" began.

The reprise took the audience through the scene where the director and Lina kept having trouble with the microphone. Sharpay and Jeff were hysterical in this scene. Jeff had been the other guy up for Don and he had been cast as the Director. Kelsi felt her nerves build as they reached "Good Mornin'". It was one of the more complicated dance routines, but it had looked great at rehearsals.

"The picture can be saved!" Ryan exclaimed as Don. "I tell you, kids, if we pull this off this day will go down in history for me. March the 23rd!"

"Ah ah ah, your historic day is not the 23rd. it's the 24th," Luke added with a wave of his finger.

"What do you mean the 24th?"

"Cause it's 1:30 already. It's morning!" Luke exclaimed as Cosmo.

"Yes, and what a lovely morning!" Gabriella yelled excitedly as she began the song,"_Good Mornin'!"_

"_Good Mornin'!"_

"_We've talked the whole night through."_

"_Good Mornin'"_

"_Good Mornin' to you."_

Kelsi directed in four and mouthed the words as Luke, Gabriella, and Ryan sang them. This was by far her favorite number from the show. She smiled softly as Gabriella attempted to keep up with Luke and Ryan. She was definitely not bad, but Luke and Ryan were more experience and trained than she was. Both Ryan and Luke had tried to tone it down so they wouldn't overshadow Gabriella too much. All in all the number showcased the excellent team work the three of them had put into the number and Kelsi was thrilled that it went so well. The next number was the signature number for the show, and was going to prove difficult for the stage crew. They had rented a rig that would actually rain onto the stage. It was very impressive, but difficult to run. Troy had been trained on it during tech rehearsals. The scene started and Kelsi sent out a prayer of thanks as the rain began to fall down onto the stage. Kelsi lead her musicians in "Singing in the Rain" while wearing a large successful smile. At the end of this number the curtain would close for intermission.

"_I'm dancin' and singin' in the rain," _Ryan sang as the song ended and the curtain closed. Kelsi was surprised at the volume and length of the applause. It was amazing. She took a deep breath and then spoke to her orchestra.

"Alright guys, ten minute break," She announced. "Get some water, a breath of fresh air, or whatever else you need. We start the Entr'acte in ten minutes."

They nodded as they exited the pit and headed backstage where a few parents of cast members would be handing out free water bottles to the cast and crew. Kelsi made her own way backstage to congratulate everyone on an outstanding first act. She stopped by Sharpay's dressing room, Gabriella's dressing room, the massive dressing room where the girls in the ensemble got dressed and then peeked in the massive dressing room where the guys in the ensemble got dressed to quickly tell them how amazing things were. She was going to go see Ryan next and then Luke. She knocked on Ryan's door and he quickly answered. His eyes widened and he seemed surprised to see her.

"Kels!"

She smiled, "Hey, great show so far. It's going amazingly well."

He gave her a modest smile and nodded, "Good, so everything is sounding okay?"

"You haven't hit a flat or sharp note yet," She told him with a smile.

"Knock on wood!" He commanded urgently. She chuckled and quickly knocked on the frame of his dressing room door. "So you did learn something last show."

She laughed, "I guess I did. Anyway, I'll see you later. I'm gonna go talk to Luke."

"Oh, right…Luke," He said slowly. As she walked away her brow furrowed. Did he sound disappointed? And was it her imagination or did his face fall at the mention of Luke's name? She shook her head. No, that couldn't be right. She was definitely imagining things. She felt Ryan's eyes on her as she knocked on Luke's door. The door flew open and Luke wrapped her in a very sweaty hug. He spun her around excitedly. She laughed and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck to keep from falling.

"It's going great, don't you think?" He asked her excitedly as he put her down. "This audience tonight is amazing! They're laughing at everything!"

"They're definitely a great opening night audience," She agreed with a smile.

"And you," He said as he pointed at her. "You are cracking me up. You keep mouthing the words along with us."

"I do?" She asked. She knew she had for "Good Mornin'" but had she done that for the other numbers as well?

"Almost every number," He chuckled. "Except for 'You Stepped Out of a Dream' and 'You Were Meant for Me'. You didn't even look at the stage during those songs."

"Oh, um, yeah- I just really love the orchestrations for those," She told him. She supposed it wasn't really a lie. She did love the orchestrations for them, that **was** true. She automatically felt guilty for withholding the whole truth, but telling Luke about her seemingly never ending crush on Ryan would only make things worse for everybody. After that statement she heard Ryan's dressing room door close. She glanced down at her watch and swore.

"I've got to get back to the pit. It's been ten minutes already!" She exclaimed. Luke kissed her quickly on the temple and told her to break a leg before she scurried off to the orchestra pit. She took her place in front of her musicians, and was slightly embarrassed about being the last one back to the pit. She lifted her arms and began the Entr'acte. As she'd left backstage the actors were scrambling around to find their places for the next scene.

She chuckled as Luke appeared immediately after the curtain opened. He looked comically frazzled.

"Lina Lamont. 'Would You'. Take…73," He said as he made his voice crack as if in pain.

Sharpay kicked off act two outstandingly with her completely off key performance of 'Would You'. Not long after that another short film of Jason's began to play across the back of the stage and Gabriella as Kathy was recording her voice over Lina's footage. Again, it was obvious that Gabriella had put a lot of work into her voice for this show. She sounded more trained and mature.

And Kelsi excitedly moved on to Sharpay's number "What's Wrong With Me?". It was truly hilarious, and Kelsi couldn't wait for the audience to see it.

"I'm beautiful, ain't I? Yeah. And I'm talented, ain't I? Yeah. And if you was a man you would fall in love with me? Yeah. And would you ever be unfaithful? NEVER," Sharpay said to herself as she looked into a mirror. "I just don't understand it! _What's wrong with me? Why doesn't he kiss me? He has a chance for a romance! What's wrong with me?"_

The squeakier Sharpay's voice became the more amusing her performance was. The audience was thoroughly enjoying it as well.

"_Why is he causing such friction when he could be MR. LAMONT! What's wrong with me? Why all this confusion? I'm quite a girl, A REAL CULTURED PEARL! What's wrong with me? I ain't so dumb cause a peach is a plumb! What's wrong? What could possibly be wrong there? What's wrong with me? NOTHING!"_

Kelsi chucked as the score went on through the end of the number and the set transitioned. Kelsi took a deep breath as the "Broadway Ballet" began. This was a long and lavish number. Molly Johnson, who had been up for Kathy against Gabriella, had been cast in Cyd Charise's dancing only role. Molly was the best female dancer in the school. She had been trained in ballet and tap since she was a little girl. Kelsi gulped as the thirteen minute number began. She couldn't imagine how straining it was for Ryan. He had to dance, sing, and act while all she did was wave her arms in time with the music. Jeff Valliant, who had also been up for Don, had been cast as the Broadway Wannabe at the end of the number, and he did a great job at standing out in his small appearance.

Kelsi began to relax as they neared the finale which involved another one of Jason's short films as it began with the end of the Don and Lina's new movie. After the 'audience' requested Lina to sing Sharpay had a freak out moment that was classic Lina. This is where Kelsi actually had some lines. Don and Cosmo commanded Kathy to sing for Lina and Lina stepped forward.

"Miss Lamont, what are you going to sing?" Kelsi yelled up to the stage.

"Would You," Gabriella stage whispered.

"Would You," Sharpay repeated.

"What Key?" Kelsi yelled up again.

"A Flat," Gabriella stage whispered again.

"A flat," Sharpay said. She was very clear to make it sound like "a flat" as opposed to the key of "A Flat". Kelsi bit back a chuckle as she began the song. Sharpay mouthed the words while Gabriella sang, and Kelsi watched in amusement as Luke interrupted and hammed up the stage in true Cosmo Brown fashion. The ensemble that was standing off stage began to laugh and boo uproariously. Gabriella ran into the house, and was stopped by two ensemble members who had been waiting in the aisle. Ryan spoke the lines of Don's speech and began singing "You Are My Lucky Star" and Gabriella slowly made her way back to the stage. The curtain closed as the song ended and stayed closed for an applause break, and then reopened for the whole cast to sing "Singin' in the Rain."

There was some light choreography for the song just to make it more visually appealing. The main cast slowly snuck off stage as the song transitioned into the music for the curtain call. The ensemble ran up to the front of the stage and took their bows. Bethany, Molly, and Jeff ran forward for their bows, and they were followed by Charlie and the other actors who played R.F. Simpson and Zelda, finally Luke ran on stage for his bow and then backed up into the line with the other cast, Sharpay came out and took her bow, and then Ryan and Gabriella took their bow together. The orchestra pit began to rise and she and the orchestra continued to play. It stopped short of being even with the stage and the cast motioned to her and the musicians. Kelsi vamped as the audience applauded thunderously and began to stand. When they were done she began to finish the curtain call music. At the end of the curtain call there was a medley of the songs from the show that the cast sang. The curtain closed, the orchestra pit was lowered again, and Kelsi transitioned her orchestra into the exit music that they would play as the audience began to file out. She knew the cast was rushing around through the hallway so they could greet the audience as they left. It was a tradition for the musicals at East High. The cast would stand outside and shake hands as the audience headed out to the parking lot. A few little kids would ask for the actors to sign their programs as well, and the cast always loved it.

Kelsi personally loved the exit music. It was the part of the show where she could relax and just jam with her orchestra. She smiled and motioned for them to let loose. They excitedly began to take liberties with the score, and Kelsi laughed. She shoved her pianist aside gently and began to jam with them. A few members of the audience had stayed behind and stood around the edges of the orchestra pit to watch. As the exit music ended the few people who remained applauded enthusiastically. She blushed and nodded in appreciation. A few people shook her hand and complimented her and the rest of the orchestra. Once everyone had left the auditorium Kelsi turned to her musicians.

"Great job, guys!" She exclaimed happily. "Set up your instruments for tomorrow afternoon, and pick up any trash before you leave."

She straightened up her stand and her music, and then placed her water bottle in her tote bag and headed out the door that led below the stage. She then climbed up the stairs that led into the house, and headed for the front exit to figure out what time the after party at Ryan and Sharpay's house began. She adjusted her tote bag strap on her shoulder as she approached the Ryan in the line.

"Hey," She said as she stopped in front of Ryan. "What time does the thing start at your house?"

"In about half an hour," He told her. "You're coming?"

She nodded, "Luke and I might be a little late though. We're gonna go grab some junk food first. I've been wanting a cheeseburger ALL day."

"Ah," He said in a strange tone. "Well, I'll see you there."

"You sure will," She smiled. "Great job tonight, by the way. If this role hadn't been created for Gene Kelly then I might think that it was always intended for you."

He smiled brightly at her, "Thanks, Kels, you have no idea how much I appreciate hearing you say that."

"It's the truth," She told him. There was silence for a moment as they both tried to think of something to say next.

"The, um, orchestra rocked tonight," He told her.

"Oh yeah? Well thanks, we worked really hard on the meshing the sound," She said with a proud smile.

Suddenly Luke grabbed her around the waste, "Hey, babe."

She smiled, "Hey."

"Let me go change and then I'll meet you out here, okay?" He asked.

She nodded, "Kay, I'll be waiting."

He kissed her cheek and continued on his way to the dressing room. Kelsi looked over at Ryan and noticed him studying the floor awfully closely. Once Luke was out of eye sight Ryan looked up again.

"So, you and Luke seem to really like each other."

She smiled happily and blushed lightly, "I do really like him. He's a great guy."

He cleared his throat nervously, "Well, I'm…happy that you're happy, Kelsi."

She gave him a quizzical glance, "Oh, um, thank you."

There was that tone again, and why did that sound like that was extremely hard for him to say?

"Well, I'm gonna go change. Shar will kill me if I'm not there before everyone else," He said as he excused himself and headed backstage.

"Okay, see you later!" She called after him.

"That was awkward," a voice said into her ear.

Kelsi jumped and turned to face Jason. She smacked his shoulder playfully.

"Don't do that!"

He chuckled, "Sorry, I couldn't resist. That looked really awkward."

Kelsi sighed, "It was for some reason. I have no idea why. We had another tiny awkward moment outside of his dressing room earlier too."

Jason raised an eyebrow, "That's interesting."

"It's not interesting. It's confusing. I swear I never know what that boy is thinking."

Jason chuckled, "Well, from what I hear you don't have to worry about that anymore. Ms. Nielson is about to be taken off the market according to Martha."

She blushed, "It's definitely heading in that direction. I've been slipping up and calling him my boyfriend more and more often."

Jason nodded, "He seems like a nice guy, Kels. I'm happy for you, but you do know that you're still not over Ryan right?"

She chuckled bitterly, "Yes, believe me, I know. It's very frustrating."

He nodded in understanding, "Will you and Luke be at the after party?"

"We're going to go get a quick bite first, but we'll definitely be there."

"Good, Martha and I will see you there."

Kelsi's eyes widened, "Are you and Martha-"

"No, no. We're just going as friends," He protested. Kelsi glanced at him suspiciously.

"Are you sure about that?"

He huffed and ran a hand through his hair, "No."

Kelsi let out an excited squeak, "Do you like Martha?"

"Maybe," he said. Jason held up a finger to silence the excited scream he knew Kelsi was just itching to let loose. "But don't broadcast it to the entire school."

She hugged him excitedly, "Oh my gosh, this is so AWESOME!"

He gave her a silencing glare, "Calm down, will you? She doesn't know."

Kelsi cleared her throat and stood still, "Right, sorry. I can't help it though. I mean you and-"

Jason covered her mouth with his hand, and glared at her meaningfully. He removed his hand just before Martha approached.

"Hey guys," She said with a smile. Kelsi grinned with barely contained glee.

"Hey, Mar," She said as she struggled to contain her excitement.

"Great show tonight," Martha said with a smile.

Kelsi bowed slightly, "Thank you."

"C'mon, Mar, we better go," Jason said urgently. He wanted to get Martha away from Kelsi until she calmed down. He was afraid she'd reveal something he didn't want revealed just yet.

"Oh, okay. We'll see you at the party, Kelsi," She said as Jason led her away.

"Bye, guys!" She called after them with an ecstatic smile. It's official, tonight was an awesome night, and she still had a party to go to.

* * *

_Okay, I realize this was a lot of show description and not as much actual plot, but I denied you guys a full description of Twinkle Town so I thought I would make it up to you by giving you a pretty lengthy description of "Singin' in the Rain". I hope you guys enjoyed it! It took forever to write, lol._

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings_


	27. Jason's Surprise

**

* * *

Jason's Surprise

* * *

  
**

"This is heaven," Kelsi said happily as she pulled her cheeseburger out of the McDonald's bag. Luke chuckled and watched her in amusement.

"You really wanted a cheeseburger, didn't you?"

"You have no idea," She told him honestly.

He laughed as they approached the rich development where the Evans family lived. He parked on the side of the road across from the Evans home, and turned to face Kelsi.

"I need to tell you something," he said. Her eyebrows rose upward curiously.

"Anything wrong?"

"No, not really," he said. "I just won't be here for the last week of school, and the first week of summer."

"Oh, where are you going?" She asked.

"Orlando. We're going to Disney World. My mom finally feels that my little brother is old enough to really enjoy Disney World now," He said with a smirk.

"Okay, well, you'll be at school this coming week right?" She asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, we don't leave until next Saturday."

"Then I'll see you when you get back," She smiled.

He nodded, "You certainly will, but there is one matter of business that I wanted to take care of before I left though."

"And what's that?"

He wordlessly handed her a silver chain. She put her cheeseburger down and took the chain out of his hands, "What is this?"

"A chain," He stated.

She grinned at him, "I can see that, dummy."

"Well, if that's how you feel about me then maybe I won't give you this," he said as he held up his class ring.

Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped, "Is that-"

"Supposed to go on that chain? Yes, it is, but you were so mean before that I don't know-"

"Luke Matthew Conrad, you better hand me that ring," Kelsi said with a bright smile.

"You mean you actually want a ring that belongs to a dummy?"

She laughed and smacked his shoulder playfully, "Stop being so mean."

"I'm mean? You're the one that called me a dummy," He smirked. She glared at him and leaned forward to kiss him on the lips. He was surprised by her action for a split second which gave her enough time to take the ring out of his hand.

She leaned back and shouted victoriously, "HA!"

"So, I'm guessing if I asked you to make this relationship official you'd say yes?" He asked with a smile. He watched as she slipped the ring onto the chain. He reached over and took the chain from her, "Here let me."

She nodded and turned away from him so he could fasten it, "Did you seriously doubt whether or not I would say yes?"

"The fear of you saying no did cross my mind a couple of times," he told her honestly as he finished fastening the chain. She turned and placed a lingering kiss on his lips.

"Well, it looks like I'm all yours now," She told him with a wink.

"I like the sound of that," He said brightly. "A lot."

"C'mon, let's eat…boyfriend," She said happily.

"That was cheesy," He teased.

"Shut up," She laughed as she picked up her cheeseburger again.

* * *

"Where are Kelsi and Luke?" Martha asked Jason as the party went on around them.

"Kelsi said they were going to get a little bit to eat before they came here," Jason said with a nod.

"They're cute aren't they?" Martha asked with a nod.

"That's seems to be the popular opinion lately," Jason said with a small smile.

"Is it your opinion?" Martha asked.

He nodded, "It is."

"So it doesn't bother you that Kelsi's dating someone? I mean I know you had a crush on her and-"

"Huh? Oh, I did have a crush on her, but Kelsi and I aren't quite right for each other. We're much better off as friends," Jason said with a smile. "Although I can't say the same for some people."

"What do you mean?" Martha asked.

"Kelsi said she and Ryan had a few awkward moments tonight. I saw one of them, and it definitely was awkward," Jason told her.

"Really?" Martha asked eagerly. "What made it awkward?"

"Well, Ryan was acting-"

"Sullen, depressed? Did he maybe keep a steady gaze on the floor?" Martha asked suddenly.

"Yeah! How did you-"

"Because he's doing it right now," Martha said as she discretely motioned to the male Evans twin. "And coincidentally…Luke and Kelsi just walked in."

Jason shook his head, "Unbelieveable, the dude has feelings for Kelsi."

Martha smirked in a bittersweet way, "Doesn't it figure that as soon as she gets a boyfriend _he_ realizes she's alive? Ugh, high school drama. I thought we had our fill of it this year, but apparently not."

Jason chuckled, "Can you have your fill of drama in high school? Is that possible?"

"Probably not, but I can hope," She laughed. "Oh! Did you bring the DVD?"

"Of course," he grinned. "After all of our hard work there is no way I would forget it. Besides, it might just shed some light on a few things. After seeing Ryan tonight, and some of the clips we caught at rehearsals…I have no doubt that he's completely gone on Kelsi."

"Should we go ask Sharpay when we can show it?" Martha asked.

"Yes, and let's do it while she's still in a good mood," Jason said urgently as he grabbed Martha's hand and led her through the crowd to Sharpay.

* * *

Kelsi approached Gabriella excitedly as she stood in a group with Troy, Ryan, and Molly.

"Gabby!" She exclaimed as she held up the ring and the chain for her to see. Gabby's eyes widened and she squealed excitedly. Troy watched in amusement as the two bounced up and down.

"You girls mind telling the rest of us what's up?" Troy asked.

Kelsi blushed, and opened her mouth to speak but Luke beat her to it.

"Kelsi is wearing my class ring around her neck," Luke said with a chuckle at his girlfriend's sudden bashfulness. "C'mon, Kels, let's go dance."

She nodded as he dragged her toward the center of the room. Gabriella suddenly realized who was standing to her left. She gasped and pulled Ryan away from Troy and Molly. She hadn't noticed his almost immediate withdrawal until now.

"Oh, Ryan, I am so sorry," She apologized with a wince. He ran a hand through his hair and looked up at her with a strained smile.

"It's okay, Gabs, really," He lied.

"Hey, your chance will come, Ry," She said as she encouragingly squeezed his arm. "I know it."

He chuckled bitterly, "Any idea when?"

"Sorry, I can't answer that one," She told him sympathetically.

He sighed in a distressed manner, "She didn't watch any of my numbers tonight. Well, at least not the ones where it was just me."

Gabriella patted his arm, "I'm sure that doesn't mean anything. Maybe she just got distracted by things going on in with the orchestra."

"Yeah, maybe," he said.

"I'm sorry, Ry. I really am," She told him. "It will get better though, eventually."

He gave her a half-hearted smile, "Thanks, Gabriella."

She nodded, "I'm gonna get back to Troy. Do you want to join us?"

"Nah, I think I'm gonna hang out in the kitchen," He told her with a small smile. As Gabriella walked away he remembered the events of the last after party. He and Kelsi had spent a good chunk of it in the music room upstairs. He shook his head. Why hadn't he realized this sooner? If he had realized he had feelings for Kelsi back then things would have been completely different.

Suddenly the music stopped and Jason's voice came over the speakers. He saw his sister handing the DJ a disc. His brow furrowed. What was going on?

"Hey, guys. Some of you know that I've been filming rehearsals for a while now, and I thought now would be a good time to share the results of all the filming. So, I hope you guys enjoy it," Jason announced as Martha dimmed the lights and the video began to play on the DJ's large screen that normally displayed music videos. Ryan's eyes widened at some of the footage. Jason had captured Ryan at some of his worst moments. He caught more than a few glares that he'd sent toward Luke, and a few times when Ryan appeared to be his most depressed. The shots of his glares were mostly from before Gabriella knocked some sense into him. How did he not realize he was jealous? He marveled at his own stupidity. It was so obvious. Ryan froze as something else caught his attention.

Some of Kelsi's expressions were rather upset as well. He noticed that they were moments where she watched his and Gabriella's scenes with a hopeless expression. Was he imagining things? He didn't think so. He noticed Kelsi standing beside Luke with wide worried eyes. No one else seemed to suspect anything or notice as the clips of himself and Kelsi were thrown in amongst a montage of clips of other people. Kelsi's wide eyed worried expression gave him hope though. She may have a boyfriend now, but he was now positive that Gabriella's words were correct. His chance would come. He knew it now.

* * *

_TA DA! Yay for an update, right? WOOO! _

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings_


	28. The Good News

**

* * *

The Good News

* * *

  
**

Ryan walked casually into homeroom on Friday of the following week. He tried not to wince as he passed Luke standing above Kelsi's desk. He sat down and realized he could still hear their conversation. Great. This was just how he wanted to start the day.

"Are we doing something tonight?" Kelsi asked him.

"Can't, I've got to pack," He told her apologetically.

"But you're leaving tomorrow, and then I won't see you for two whole weeks," She protested.

"I know, but-hey! Do you want to come over and help me pack? We can watch a movie while we pack if you want. If we manage to get done early we may even be able to go out somewhere." He offered with a charming smile.

She nodded, "Sure, sounds like a plan."

"Alright, then you can just ride with me to my house after school."

Ryan didn't hear the rest of the conversation. He was too caught up in something Kelsi had said.

"_But you're leaving tomorrow, and then I won't see you for two whole weeks."_

That meant he would miss the last week of school. Which meant Ryan could enjoy some Luke-free Kelsi time. He hadn't gotten to talk to her much lately. She was always with Luke or the rest of the girls. But next week…

Next week Luke wouldn't be around. He could actually have a conversation with her again. He smiled brightly. It looked like the last week of school was going to be a great one. Sharpay suddenly entered homeroom in a huff. Ryan gave her a curious look.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Gloria is moving," She said simply.

Ryan's eyes widened, "Our rehearsal pianist? Why?"

"I don't know. She gave me some ridiculous story about getting engaged. Like anyone would ever propose to _her_," Sharpay scoffed. "What are we going to do, Ry? We have to have a rehearsal pianist for the show."

Ryan smiled brightly as he thought of something, "Hire Kelsi."

"Kelsi?" Sharpay asked in confusion. "Why Kelsi?"

"Well, she's good and available," Ryan suggested.

"Not the kind of available you're thinking of, brother dear. She has a Luke, remember?"

He rolled his eyes, "That's not the kind of available I meant, Shar, and you know it."

"I don't know, Ryan. I really don't want to encourage this crush of yours," Sharpay said thoughtfully.

He rolled his eyes, "Who else are you going to be able to hire on such short notice?"

She crossed her arms and huffed, "I'll think about it."

Ryan smiled brightly. He knew that coming from Sharpay "I'll think about it" was practically a yes. This day was certainly looking up.

Sharpay crossed her arms over her chest and glared thoughtfully at Kelsi Nielson. The girl seemed innocent enough. But Sharpay still couldn't believe that out of all the girls in the school _her_ brother had to have a crush on _that_ one. The one that betrayed the drama club to help the outsiders. If her brother started hanging out with her she knew just what would happen. He was already friends with…_Gabriella. _She still didn't understand that. Sure they had starred opposite each other in the show, but did they have to become friends? At least the rest of the Wildcats still seemed indifferent to him. She knew that her brother had taken an interest in Kelsi earlier in the year, and she had been fine with it then. But she'd thought he was making a friend not harboring a crush! Hiring Kelsi would certainly be the end of the Evans Twins. She just knew that he would end up deserting her for the rest of Kelsi's friends. She refused to let that happen.

But then again, if she could isolate Kelsi from the others she might be able to bring the little composer back to her side. If Kelsi worked at Lava Springs for the summer then she would certainly be isolated from all of her friends, wouldn't she? Ryan would get to spend time with her AND Sharpay would get a few of Kelsi's songs.

Oh yes, this was definitely a plan she needed to develop further.

Sharpay scoffed and rolled her eyes as Troy and Gabriella entered homeroom. She bit back a groan as Gabriella giggled. That girl's giggle was so annoying. She still didn't understand what _Gabriella_ was doing with Troy. There were too different, and too…_happy_.

If there was anyone at school who deserved Troy Bolton it was her. Everyone knew that Troy was destined for U of A greatness after high school, and her father was on the board, wasn't he? She could basically _hand_ him a free education. All she had to do was pull the right strings, and bat her eyelashes at the appropriate people. Could Gabriella do that? No, she couldn't. Ms. Montez had nothing on Sharpay Evans, and Sharpay could prove it.

She eyed East High's golden couple greedily. She _would_ prove it.

Gabriella _wouldn't_ win this round.

Ryan had the right idea. If he could spend more time with Kelsi by giving her a job at Lava Springs then she could do the same with Troy Bolton, couldn't she? Sharpay smirked. This summer was going to make up for ALL this disappointments of the previous year. She was going to make sure of that.

* * *

_Ta da! Okay so I had a ton of fun writing that last bit in Sharpay's POV. Too much fun probably. It's just so fun to be mean...when you're writing that is. _

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings  
_


	29. The Triple Date

**

* * *

The Triple Date

* * *

**

Luke packed his last shirt in the suitcase on his bed. Kelsi watched in amusement as he attempted to zip the stuffed suitcase. The zipper wasn't going anywhere. He had too much in the bag. He opened it and patted down the clothing inside and then tried again. He huffed, and then stared at the suitcase thoughtfully. He snapped his fingers as he got an idea of what to do and then turned to face his girlfriend.

"You mind giving me a hand?" He asked.

"Sure, what do you need me to do?"

"Sit on the suitcase," He told her. She chuckled and did as he asked.

"Perfect," He said as he finally began to zip the suitcase closed.

Once he was done with the suitcase he helped Kelsi down, and then moved the suitcase out into the hall.

"Done," He announced.

"You're all done?" Kelsi asked.

"Yep, and it's only 7 o'clock. We still have time to go out," He said with a bright smile. Kelsi smiled eagerly, and opened her mouth to make a suggestion when her phone rang.

"Hello?" She asked as she gave Luke an apologetic glance.

"Hey, Kels. What are you and Luke up to tonight?" Came Taylor's voice over the phone.

"Well, nothing right now. He just finished packing. Why? What's up?"

"Well, Troy and Gabby are at the food court at the mall with Chad and I, and we were wondering if you guys wanted to join us?" Taylor asked.

"Like as in a Triple date?" Kelsi asked in amusement.

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Taylor said brightly.

"Hold on, let me ask," She said. She put her hand over the mouth piece and looked up at Luke. "What do you think?"

"Is that Gabriella?" he asked.

"It's Taylor," She said.

"Ah, so the triple date would be Gabriella and Troy, and Chad and Taylor, and then us, right?"

She nodded.

He shrugged, "Sounds like a fun time to me."

She smiled brightly at him and then went back to her conversation with Taylor, "We'll be there. Where are you guys at in the food court?"

"We're sitting beside the cookie place," Taylor answered.

"That's potentially dangerous," Kelsi chuckled. "I might have to get one when we get there."

"Join the club, girl, I've already had two cookies," Taylor laughed. "I'll let you go so you guys can head this way. See you in a few!"

"Yeah, see you!" Kelsi said as she hung up.

"What's potentially dangerous?" Luke asked with a grin as they left his room.

"They're sitting beside the cookie place," She told him.

"Oh man, and I know how you are about food," He chuckled.

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with a girl who likes to eat," She said as she poked his chest playfully.

He raised his hands in surrender, "I didn't say there was!"

* * *

"Hey, guys!" Kelsi said as she and Luke sat down with the other two couples.

"Hey," Chad said with a smile as he gave Luke a protective once over. "You know you and I haven't really had a chance to _talk_ yet Luke."

"Chad!" Taylor scolded with a shake of her head.

"What? I'm just stating a fact," Chad said in his defense.

"Oh please, you were threatening him," Taylor said with a knowing grin.

"Yeah, well he's dating Small Person! It's my job!"

"Small Person?" Luke asked Kelsi curiously.

She rolled her eyes affectionately, "It's Chad's nickname for me."

"I thought your nickname was Playmaker?" Luke asked.

"Not to Chad, apparently," Troy said with a chuckle.

"Hey! You're not the only one of us who can make up nicknames, you know," Chad said with a teasing grin.

"Not the only one who can just the only one who makes up _good_ ones," Troy countered.

"You guys are seriously debating who made up the better nickname? Really?" Gabriella asked with a smirk.

"Oh, there's no debate," Chad said. "Mine's better."

"Fine, let's ask Luke," Troy stated. "He is her boyfriend after all. Which nickname do you like better?"

His eyes widened, "Um, I plead the fifth?"

Kelsi laughed at the frightened look on her boyfriend's face. Troy and Chad shook their heads and continued the argument.

Luke cleared his throat and turned to Kelsi, "I'm gonna go get something from Sbarro's. Do you want anything?"

"A slice of pepperoni would be great," She told him with a grateful smile.

"Comin' right up," He said as he got up and made his way to the line.

"I wish _my_ boyfriend would do that," Gabriella said cheekily. "Most girls would have found someone else to eat with by now if they'd been waiting to eat for as long I have."

Troy gave her an amused look, "Who are you kidding? You could never leave me."

"Oh? And what makes you say that?" She asked.

He leaned forward and kissed her temple, "Because it would be too hard to train my replacement, dear. Now, should I go get your usual? Chicken Teriyaki?"

"You do know me oh so well," She smiled. A similar exchange occurred between Chad and Taylor, but Kelsi wasn't paying much attention. She had zoned out after Troy and Gabriella's moment. Every time she saw them together she couldn't stop the nagging feeling that they had something she and Luke didn't. She couldn't put her finger on it. It was this vibe that came off of them no matter where they were. It felt like…well…like they truly were meant to be together. She resisted the urge to sigh. She didn't feel that vibe with Luke. She liked him a lot, and he was sweet, but little things didn't remind her of him at every turn. She was never truly distracted by thoughts of him during the day, and she certainly didn't moon over him the way Gabriella did over Troy. There was just something missing between her and Luke, but Luke didn't seem to notice that anything was off.

"Kelsi?"

She looked up to find Taylor and Gabriella staring at her worriedly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to space out like that."

"Everything okay?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't know," She told them honestly. "I just feel like there's something about Luke and I that doesn't really…fit."

"Could it be the hat wearing dancer that's looming in the middle of the relationship?" Taylor suggested bluntly.

Kelsi sighed, "I guess it could be, but whether it is or isn't I'm not sure I should continue to date him. I mean I don't know if this is just some random self-doubt thing or a real issue."

Gabriella looked at her thoughtfully, "I know what you should do."

"What?" Kelsi asked.

"Make a list of all the qualities you're looking for in **the** guy. Not just a guy, but **the** guy you would ideally like to end up with," Gabriella suggested.

"Oh, I've done that. You make that list and then compare it to the boyfriend…it's a surprisingly accurate method," Taylor agreed.

"You did that with Chad, huh?" Kelsi asked.

"Yes, and I was very surprised when he actually ended up matching my list completely," Taylor said with a smile.

"Surprised?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, yes. Honestly when we first started dating I wasn't sure it was such a good idea. I mean, the two of us are so different," Taylor told them. She smiled warmly as she continued, "But who am I to deny the curls?"

Kelsi nodded, "I guess I'll do that when I get home then."

"Good luck," Gabriella said with a soft smile.

"Thanks," Kelsi said with a sigh just before Luke returned to the table.

"Pepperoni pizza for the lady," Luke said as he set Kelsi's plate down in front of her. "And a slice of supreme pizza for me."

"Thank you," Kelsi told him with a smile. Why couldn't she have thought about any of this _before_ she agreed to make things official? _Easy,_ she thought to herself, _You were just excited to have someone you found attractive actually _notice_ you._

Maybe she was wrong. Maybe the list wouldn't tell her what she suspected it would.


	30. The List

**

* * *

The List

* * *

  
**

Kelsi groaned as she stared at her blank sheet of notebook paper. This list was not working. She couldn't think of anything. Well, nothing that you could physically see in a guy at least. She wanted someone who fit, someone who would be able to help her with her lyrics or music if she needed it, she wanted someone who caused her to feel things that didn't even have names.

How do you put that down on a list?

She sighed and walked away from her desk. She rolled her neck and stretched. Her eyes landed on her keyboard. She stared at it thoughtfully for several minutes. She stared back and forth between the paper and her keyboard. Was she looking for too much? Were her wishes too much like a story book?

She huffed in frustration and picked up the pen off of her desk and marched over to her keyboard. So what if they were story book wishes? That wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Troy and Gabriella seemed to have that fairy tale quality. She played a few chords on her keyboard as she thought. She froze after she played the third chord. _Hmm, that kind of sounded like a song. _

She played them again, and wondered what kind of melody would go with them.

"Na na na-na, na na na-na…"

She smiled brightly and quickly reached for her pile of sheet music. Maybe she couldn't make a list…but she could write a song. A song about everything she wanted in a _true_ love. First she needed the music. The style of the music would determine how the lyrics flowed. She played those three chords again. She played around with some notes that would come in between the chords until she found the right combination. She stopped to write down the notes she'd decided on so far. Eventually she just began to play what she felt. Two hours later she had the music finished. She played it through one more time just to make sure it was what she wanted. Now for the lyrics. She smiled and glanced at the clock. It was midnight, but she didn't care. She'd stay up all night if she had to.

She immediately started with the same series of notes she had sung to herself earlier.

"Na na na-na, na na na-na," She sang. "Yeah.."

She thought back to everything that had been stirring in side of her all evening, and the thing she loved most.

She wanted…the music. She wanted someone to _be_ her music.

"You are the music in me," She sang experimentally and then immediately smiled. She scribbled the words and the vocal notes down quickly. "You know the words 'once upon a time' make you listen. There's a reason."

That sounded right. It fit with her whole fairy tale complex. What was next?

Dreaming. Something about dreaming. That's what she was doing right now wasn't it? Dreaming of her ideal love?

"When you dream theres a chance you'll find…"

Find what? Who did she know that had dreamed and then found something…

The image of Gabriella and Troy smiling and laughing suddenly flashed through her mind. Her eyebrows rose as she attempted to complete the line, "a way to laugh…"

She grimaced. That wasn't right.

"A little laughter…"

Much better. She bit her lip. Now she had to find something that rhymed with laughter.

"Laughter, Mafter, Nafter, Safter, Cafter….after?" She said to herself. "After. After could work."

"A little laughter or…happy ever after."

She smiled and started again, "Na na na-na, na na na-na yeah. You are the music in me. You know the words 'once upon a time' make you listen. There's a reason. When you dream there's a chance you'll find a little laughter or happy ever after."

Where to go from here, though? Maybe back to the music theme? Treble clef and bass clef? No, that wasn't romantic enough. Melody? Melody and…Harmony! That's what you have in a duet right? And isn't that what all good relationships should be like?

"You're a harmony to the melody that's echoing inside my head."

She didn't know where the second half of that line had come from, but she liked it.

* * *

She showed up to school Monday, and still hadn't finished the song. She thought maybe she'd be able to finish it in the music room. She was stuck at the second verse. Maybe she needed to play something else and take a break from the song to get a fresh perspective.

She started playing something from "Singin' in the Rain". She didn't realize that it was the song she had desperately wanted Ryan to be singing to her until she started singing along with it.

"_You were meant for me, and I was meant for you. Nature patterned you and when she was done you were all the sweet things rolled up in one. You're like a plaintive melody that never sets me free, but I'm content the angels must have sent you and they meant you just for me."_

She closed her eyes and continued playing the rest of the song, _"__But-" _

"_I'm content the angels must have sent you, and they meant you just for me_," a familiar voice sang from behind her. She whipped around in shock to find Ryan standing behind her. He smiled softly at her, and she gulped nervously. That wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to finish the song.

"Sorry, was I interrupting something?" He asked.

"Oh! Um...no. I just didn't hear you come in, that's all." She said quickly.

He just sang all the words she had once dreamed he would say to her. Her eyes widened as lyrics suddenly hit her.

"Paper," She said urgently.

"What?" Ryan asked in confusion.

"I need paper," She told him as she grabbed her bag and rifled through it. His eyes widened and he quickly handed her a piece out of his notebook. She smiled brightly at him, "Thank you!"

She grabbed her favorite pen from her bag and began scribbling. She had left off at "It's like I knew you before we met, can't explain it. There's no name for it."

"I sang you words I've never said, and it was easy…," She said aloud as she wrote. "Because…"

She sighed. She needed a phrase that rhymed.

"You see me?" Ryan suggested questioningly.

"Yes! Except…hmmm, let's add something to that…'Because you see…the _real_ me," She said excitedly.

"Writing another song?" He asked in amusement.

She nodded, "I'm almost finished with it too."

"Can I hear it?" He asked.

Her eyes widened, "No! I mean…not yet."

"Oh, well sure. Some other time though?"

"Um…sure," She said nervously. "Some other time."

"Do you want me to leave so you can work?" He asked.

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that. I can work on it later," She said with a smile. "Besides I haven't talked to you in a while."

He reached up and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Yeah, sorry about that. Exams were last week, you know? Just a little pre-occupied with all of that."

"I understand, but exams are over now, right?" She said with a smile.

"Right, and summer is just a few days away," He said with a smile of his own. He cleared his throat, "So, um, where's Luke?"

"On vacation, he won't be back for two weeks," She told him.

"Oh," He said as he feigned ignorance. "So will you be eating lunch with the drama club this week then?"

Since she and Luke had started dating she'd been sitting with him and his friends during lunch instead of with Ryan and Sharpay. She gave him a small smile.

"I guess, if you want me to," She said.

He nodded, "I want you…to. I want you to sit with us…that's, um, that's what I meant."

Kelsi bit back a chuckle. It was more because of Ryan's expression than his words. He looked about ready to kick himself. He had winced and scratched the back of his neck again when he had made his mistake. He had looked adorable.

Kelsi froze.

She suddenly realized…this was too close. She wasn't really doing anything wrong, but…she _felt_ like she was cheating on Luke for some reason. She fought a groan as her crush on Ryan bubbled back to the surface. Darn that boy! She couldn't even _pretend_ she didn't have a crush on him.

"Can I walk you to homeroom?" He asked.

She wanted to say no, but…

How could she say no to _him_?

"Sure," She said as she slung her tote over her shoulder.

Oh yes, she was in _big_ trouble.

* * *

_I hope this seemed natural. I only have a limited knowledge of music from my choir days, but I really hope this came across as plausible for Kelsi. I feel like it did, but I want to know what you guys think._

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings_


	31. Summertime

_***PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE YOU READ THE CHAPTER***_

_Okay, my amazing and wonderful readers...I have a few things I would like to say:_

_1) This is the **last chapter, but NOT the last update. **I will be updating this story one more time. Fairly soon I will be posting **"HSM2: Deleted Scenes (Small Person Style)"**, and I ask that if you are not satisfied with the way this chapter ends then please **please read the Deleted Scenes.** They may address something you're unhappy about. _

_2) **This story was never meant to alter canon**. When I decided to write this story all I really wanted to do was bridge the gap between the first HSM and the second. I also wanted to explore Kelsi's character and the origins of Ryelsi. So **I never intended to have Ryan and Kelsi actually get together**. **They're happy ending doesn't come until HSM3**. I apologize if some of you are dissappointed about that. _

_3) I think **HSM2 covers the ENTIRE summer. **I think HSM2 is their whole summer condensed into 111 minutes. Meaning that the opening scene is the very beginning of summer vacation and the very last scene is on their last day of summer vacation. Troy's problems would be spread across all three months of summer. I say this because I don't want you guys to think that Luke is gone during all the events of HSM2. He's not. He's just gone during Kelsi's first week at Lava Springs._

_4) **THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! **This is my MOST reviewed story to date, and it's all because the High School Musical fan community is SO AMAZING. You guys rock and I truly appreciate EVERY review. **AND I REALLY HOPE YOU ENJOY THESE LAST COUPLE OF UPDATES!**_

_***Steps off soapbox***_

**_Now, as Irving Berlin wrote..."Let's go on with the show!"_  
**

* * *

Summertime

**

* * *

  
**

It was the last day of school. Finally. She stared at the sheet music on her desk. She was currently in home room waiting for the day to begin. She was so close to being finished with this song. She just had to write the bridge, and she would be finished. She had the first line written.

"Together we're gonna sing."

But she didn't know what to write next. Troy and Gabriella walked in and waved to her as they passed. She smiled at them and felt a single pang of envy. At least Gabriella had the guts to take the risk and tell Troy how she felt. Kelsi had never been able to do that. Her brow furrowed and she tilted her head to the right as she studied the music again. She wrote down a line tentatively in pencil to see if she liked it.

"We've got the power to say what we feel…"

What rhymed with feel…

Real?

What was the count of the second bridge line? She glanced at the music again.

One, two-and, three-and, four. Quarter note, eighth note, eighth note, quarter note. "Real" would be at the end of the phrase so it would be on the last quarter note. She needed a three syllable word that was an adjective.

Beautiful? No, that didn't fit properly.

Eternal? No, too serious.

Perfected? No, but she did like the sound of past tense in that spot. Her eyes landed on one of Ms. Darbus's "Tips for actors" posters. "Tip #3: CONNECT with the audience."

Connected!

"We've got the power to say what we feel, connected and real."

She scribbled down the next line she was thinking about, and stared at it for a few minutes.

It was perfect.

"Can't keep it all inside."

If she repeated the chorus, and sang a few more "na-na"s then the song was finished.

She smiled. She finished it! The song was complete!

Now what should she do with it? She had no idea. She stuck the sheet music in to her music folder and decided to save it for a special occasion. She'd know when the time was right to use it.

Ryan walked in the door as she was putting her binder back into her messenger bag.

"Hey, Kels," He said brightly as he stopped by her desk.

She smiled in return, "Hi."

"So, we get yearbooks in second period," He stated casually. She nodded, and waited for him to continue. "Do you want to swap them at lunch? I'll sign yours you sign mine?"

"Okay, sounds good," She agreed.

"See you at lunch then," He said as he winked at her and then headed for his desk. He stopped and came back to her desk as if he'd forgotten something.

"Hey!" he said urgently.

She quirked an eyebrow at him, "Yes?"

"We're wearing the same color hat!"

She took a second to process what he said, and then began laughing hysterically.

"Is that funny?" He asked her.

"No, you-" She said as she attempted to breath. "You rushed back here like-like there was some sort of national emerg-emergency!"

He blushed and smiled at her, "I just realized it and thought it was cool."

"I know, but your face-" She took a deep breath and calmed herself. She let out one last giggle before she spoke again, "You looked so excited…it was cute."

"Cute?" He asked curiously with a grin.

Kelsi's eyes widened. She hadn't meant to say that.

"Alright everyone, sit down please," Ms. Darbus said as she entered the room. Kelsi let out a sigh of relief. She was extremely grateful to Ms. Darbus at that moment. What was she thinking? What would Luke say if he were here? Guilt quickly set in as Ryan walked toward his desk and sat down. She really needed to get a grip.

* * *

Lunch came around quicker than Kelsi expected it to, and Ryan immediately greeted her as she entered the cafeteria.

"Hey," He said with a bright smile.

"Hey," She said as she returned his smile with one of her own.

"Did you bring your yearbook?" He asked. She nodded and held hers out to him. He took hers and then handed her his. She followed him up to the drama club table and set down her bag and the yearbook and then walked back to the line to get her food. She ran into Martha in the line.

"So, I see you're sitting with Ryan again today?" Martha asked as she grabbed a tray.

"Yes," She said suspiciously as she placed one of the turkey sandwiches on her own tray. "Is there something you want to say, Mar?"

"Just that you've been spending a lot of time with him lately," She responded as she also grabbed a sandwich.

"And?" Kelsi asked as she picked up a bag of chips.

"That's not exactly the best way to get over a crush, my friend," Martha told her honestly.

She sighed, "I know! I just…can't help it. I can't say no to him. It would be like you trying to tell Jason you don't want to help him with one of his films. It's just not possible."

"What are you insinuating?" Martha asked.

"Oh please, Martha. You totally have a thing for Jase, and you know it," Kelsi told her friend as she picked up a bottle of fruit punch.

She blushed, "No, I don't."

Kelsi rolled her eyes and chuckled as she paid for her meal, "Keep telling yourself that."

Kelsi returned to the table and sat down next to Ryan with a smile.

"So what are your plans for the summer?" Ryan asked her.

"Nothing really. Just music and hanging out," She told him.

"No summer job?"

"People aren't exactly eager to hire a high school student with no previous work experience," She told him. She noticed him give Sharpay a meaningful glance, and she also noticed Sharpay roll her eyes in response. "What about you?"

"Oh, pretty much the same. Music and hanging out," He answered. "I figure it's my last summer to really sit back and enjoy. Considering we'll be seniors next year, and after that is college and internships and who knows what else."

"Ugh," Kelsi groaned. "I'm not looking forward to applying to colleges. I mean I was lucky I got through the SAT this year, and now my mom tells me that most colleges prefer you take it twice. You know what she told me?"

"What?" Ryan asked.

"I have to take it one more time over the summer," She said with a sigh.

He winced, "That's brutal."

"Tell me about it," Kelsi grumbled. "But at least I'll have it over with before next year."

"Where are you thinking about applying to?" He asked.

"Well, dad works at U of A so I'll probably apply there since I'd be able to go for free and all, and I've been contemplating applying to Berkley," She told him.

He furrowed his brow, "That's all? I would have thought you'd be applying to NYU or Julliard."

"Are you kidding me? I couldn't get in to those schools," She told him with raised eyebrows.

He gave her a shocked look, "You're kidding me right? Please tell me you're kidding."

She just stared at him in confusion.

He shook his head, "Oh wow, Kels. Just wow. Do you really think so little of your own talent?"

She gulped, "C'mon Ryan-"

"No, Kelsi. You're one of the most talented people in our class. Honestly, you probably _are_ the most talented person in our class. If you don't apply to at least one school in New York then I'm going to apply for you," He told her firmly.

She stared at him in shock and blushed. He really thought she was talented. "_You probably _are_ the most talented person in our class._"

"Okay," She said softly. She chuckled lightly before she continued, "You win."

"Good," He told her with a grin. "I like winning."

She laughed and opened her fruit punch, "You are too funny, Ryan Evans. You really are."

* * *

"So what was your favorite summer memory, Ms. Darbus?"

Kelsi groaned along with the class as Jason was once again curious about the wrong thing at the very wrong time.

They were finally back in homeroom. The day was finally coming to end, and she could barely contain her excitement. She grinned as she noticed that all of her classmates had their eyes glued to the clock. The bell was going to ring in less than a minute. Kelsi went ahead and packed up her stuff, and then tapped her pen against her desk as she waited. The guy who sat behind her, Chucky, leaned forward to chat with her while they all ignored Ms. Darbus's speech. They chatted about pointless things, and pretty soon Troy, Chad, and Taylor joined in the discussion. Apparently none of them had been able to land summer jobs.

The bell rang and everyone all but jumped out of their seats. She stayed put and waited for the rush to end. She knew if she tried to leave with everyone else then she would have been trampled. The crowd cleared and she finally stood. Martha and Taylor caught up with her as she made her way to her locker.

"Hey Martha, Hey Taylor," She said as she fell into step beside of them.

"Hey, Kels, what are you planning to do this summer?" Martha asked.

"Grow," She answered sarcastically. "Write Music, Grow."

They shared a laugh as Troy ran around them.

"Where do you think he's going so quickly?" Taylor asked as the guys caught up with them. Chad took her rolling book bag from her as they continued down the hall.

"Come on, Tay, you know exactly where he's going," Chad said with a grin. "Gabby's locker is right around the corner."

She stared after Troy suspiciously, "But why was he in such a hurry? I just can't-"

Kelsi heard Taylor gasp as they rounded the corner. Taylor stopped and Kelsi nearly ran into her. She looked up to see what had caught Taylor's attention and smiled. Troy was putting some sort of necklace on Gabriella's neck. Kelsi leaned against the door as all the Wildcats gathered to watch. No one appeared to move or look away not even when Troy leaned in for a kiss. Suddenly a freshman approached them from Troy's right with his yearbook. Kelsi bit back a chuckle as Troy hid his frustration from the kid, and graciously signed his yearbook. The kid walked away and Troy leaned in again. Chad grinned at the group and stepped forward.

"Hoops, let's go!" He said.

Troy gave him a sarcastic smile, "Yeah, sure. Sure, cause I'm not busy or anything."

Gabriella gave the girls an excited nod as they all continued to walk down the hall. Kelsi paused to close Gabriella's locker for her, and when she did Ryan caught up with her.

"Hey, Kels. I'm done with your yearbook," He said as he held it out to her.

She smiled and took from him. She quickly put it in her messenger bag before they rounded another corner and caught back up with the Wildcats, "I have yours in my locker if you want to come with me to get it."

He nodded, "Sure."

She told Martha she would meet her out front, and then she and Ryan headed to her locker. Ryan leaned against the locker next to hers as she pulled out his yearbook and handed it to him.

"Thanks," He smiled.

"No problem," She told him happily. Kelsi continued to sort out the things in her locker as Ryan leaned against the locker next to hers and spaced out. She heard Sharpay talking as she stood in front of her own hot pink locker, but Kelsi wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying. She was currently and inwardly freaking out about Ryan leaning against the locker next to hers. That was a very boyfriend-like thing to do, and she felt guilty about being so thrilled about it. She had a boyfriend after all, but something about Ryan standing so close to her just…made her tingle.

That probably wasn't something someone with a boyfriend should feel around another guy, was it?

"Oh! Come here, Kelsi," Sharpay said in an overly friendly tone. Kelsi turned and looked at Sharpay with wary, wide eyes. "I have a summer job for you at our country club. Our rehearsal pianist is evidently moving."

"Or hiding," Kelsi mumbled under her breath.

"Pardon?" Sharpay asked.

Kelsi quickly plastered on a smile, "Sounds great!"

She quickly moved away before Sharpay caught on to her insincerity. As she passed Ryan and returned to her locker she could have sworn she saw a strange smile on his face. She discretely listened as Ryan chatted with his sister. She didn't really listen to the words just the sound of their voices. She grabbed everything she needed out of her locker, and watched out of the corner of her eye as Sharpay and Ryan walked off. Ryan turned just before he rounded the corner and gave Kelsi a wink and wave. She smiled and waved back, and then went back to clearing out her locker. She put what she needed in her messenger bag.

"Kelsi!" Jason called as he passed her. "Come on, schools out already. Let's get out of here."

She laughed and jogged after him. He slowed down a little to let her catch up with him. They walked out to the buses together and met the rest of the group. She gave Sharpay and Ryan one last glance as she watched them walking toward Sharpay's hot pink convertible.

A thought suddenly struck her about her new summer job.

She wasn't just Sharpay's rehearsal pianist…she was Ryan's. She was going to be seeing Ryan everyday over summer break. Well most days. She assumed she would have at least one day off. She smiled brightly, and, for the moment, ignored her nagging guilt. She could feel guilty about having a boyfriend when she got home. Right now she just wanted to enjoy all the possibilities of summer.

After all…it's summer. Everything changes.

* * *

_Woo! That's the last chapter. _

_**Still to come:**_

_HSM2: Deleted Scenes...Small Person Style_

_I'm going to take JDP's challenge and use it to write drabbles that continue some things I started in Small Person so look forward to that. I'll be posting it with this story in a few days or a week at the most. _

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings  
_


	32. Deleted Scenes: Friends

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Friends

* * *

  
_

"Kels!"

Kelsi's head snapped in Martha's direction, "Sorry, you ready?"

Martha gazed in the direction Kelsi had been, and noticed Ryan and Sharpay getting into Sharpay's convertible, "We've got some talking to do, _friend_."

"About what?"

"Oh, a certain twisted love triangle that _someone_ has gotten herself involved in," Martha reminded her.

"It is not a triangle. This situation is _very_ linear," Kelsi insisted.

"Sure it is," Martha said sarcastically as she looped her arm through Kelsi's. Together they headed off to Martha's Honda. Martha grinned and decided to throw Kelsi's words back at her, "Keep telling yourself that."

* * *

***Author's Note***

_Okay, so this is the first of several drabbles. I was going to post them all at once, but I have changed my mind and decided to post them one at a time for you guys! _

_These will follow the events of HSM2 in order to wrap up some conflicts from Small Person as well as bring up some things that will be covered in the SEQUEL. That's right I said sequel. I went there. I'll announce the title soon...so keep a look out for that!_

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings  
_

_

* * *

_


	33. Deleted Scenes: Gift

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Gift

* * *

  
_

Kelsi watched Sharpay and Ryan leave their first rehearsal. There was a talent show! And the staff got to do a number! She bit her lip and waited until Sharpay was a safe distance away before pulling out her music folder. She glanced down at the sheet music in the front. "The Music in Me" could be _perfect_ for Troy and Gabriella. After all, they had inspired parts of the song, and if Gabby hadn't told her to make a list this song would never have come to be. She smiled and wrote "Troy and Gabriella" across the top of the page. She just needed to rearrange a few things and make it better suited for a group number. She could add in heavy background vocals, and a more definitive beat. Kelsi gulped and prayed they liked it. This song was possibly the most meaningful thing she had ever written, and she wanted it to be performed by the right people. It _had_ to be performed by the right people.


	34. Deleted Scenes: Green Eyed Monster

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Green Eyed Monster

* * *

  
_

"You're working again tonight, aren't you?" Luke asked over the phone. He'd been back for two weeks and had only been able to see Kelsi twice since then.

"Sharpay wants to put in a few extra rehearsals," She sighed.

"Sharpay…or Ryan?" Luke asked.

"What?" She asked.

"I wasn't going to say anything but…a few of my friends said they noticed you and him being awfully chummy during the last week of school," He revealed honestly.

Kelsi's eyes widened in panic and guilt, "Luke, he's my friend-"

"I've seen the way he looks at you, Kels. It's not friend-like. Trust me."


	35. Deleted Scenes: Test

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Test

* * *

  
_

Derby Evans eyed the quiet pianist from her spot at the dinner table. She noticed her son looking in the girl's direction every now and then, and was a little more than curious. She almost felt bad for the girl as she noticed her nod off slightly. Their dinner parties tended to run long, and she was stuck playing mood music until they left. Derby's eyes widened as she got an idea. She planned on finding out just _what_ her ducky felt in regards to the petite musician.

"Fulton!" She called. Fulton approached her quickly. "Bring another chair over here and bring the pianist along with it."

Fulton's eyes widened but he did as he was told.

"Mom? What are you doing?" Ryan asked fearfully.

"Trust me, ducky," She said as she squeezed his hand encouragingly.


	36. Deleted Scenes: Game

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Game

* * *

  
_

Ryan watched his mother warily. He smiled at Kelsi as Fulton sat her down between himself and his mother.

"Hello, Kelsi. I'm Mrs. Evans," Derby said brightly. "I'm so glad to meet you."

She shook hands with Kelsi as the girl sat down. Kelsi gulped nervously, "It's nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Evans."

"So tell me, dear, how charming is my darling boy here?"

Ryan's eyes widened and he blushed in embarrassment, "Mom!"

Kelsi blushed and chuckled softly, "Very charming, Mrs. Evans."

"Fabulous," Derby smirked as her son tugged on the bill of his hat. She smiled and continued to chat warmly with the small composer. "You go to East High as well, correct? I've seen you at the shows."

Kelsi smiled modestly, "Yes, I do."

Ryan chuckled at her, "You really need to learn how to brag about yourself, Kels. She composed all the music for 'Twinkle Town', mom."

"Really? Well, that's quite impressive," Derby said with a bright expression.

"Thank you," Kelsi said with a blush.

"Then you must have dreams as big as my twins, Kelsi. I suppose you'll be applying to a school in New York like my two talented hams?" She asked as she winked at Ryan.

"I-"

"Yes, she _is_," Ryan stated firmly as he gave Kelsi a meaningful look. "I made her promise."

"I'm not going to get out of that am I?" Kelsi asked him.

"No. Definately not," He grinned as he nudged her shoulder playfully.

Derby grinned as she continued to watch their interactions. Her little boy had it bad, and she didn't mind one bit. As a matter of fact she found Kelsi Nielson to be extremely charming. She was a little quiet perhaps, but then who wasn't when compared to her own kids? She was modest, sweet, talented, and appeared to value her son's oppinion very much if the blush on her cheeks was any indication. Oh yes, she liked this girl very much.


	37. Deleted Scenes: Song

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Song

* * *

  
_

Ryan glanced curiously at the sheet music sitting on top of the piano. "Everyday" was apparently the title. He tilted his head to the right and looked around for Kelsi before he picked it up. He smiled as he read over the lyrics. It was signature Kelsi. The lyrics were positive, the melody was catchy, and it was filled with her passion.

"Do you like it?" A voice asked. He spun around to find Kelsi watching him nervously. He flashed her a bright smile.

"I _love_ it."

"Good, because I was hoping we could use that song for the show," She said hopefully. "I wrote it with your style of choreography in mind, and it's a perfect statement for what we all want out of the summer right?"

Ryan didn't think he could admire Kelsi any more than he did at that moment. She was always considering others when she wrote music. It amazed him that she was so concerned with the performers, and paid so much attention to the details of the group the song was intended for. The thing that impressed him the most though was that she didn't even realize she did it. She didn't have to _try_ to include everyone...it was just instinctual to her.

"It's the perfect number for the Talent Show, Kels. It really is."


	38. Deleted Scenes: Dawn

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Dawn

* * *

  
_

"Hey, Kels, did Gabby really quit?" Ryan asked her.

She nodded, "Yes."

"And she broke up with Troy?"

"Yes," She sighed.

"Well, then I guess it's clear what we have to do," He said thoughtfully.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Get them back together, of course," He told her.

"What?" She asked in surprise. "I thought-don't you-"

"What?" He asked curiously.

"I thought you had a crush on Gabriella?" She asked meekly.

"Not for a long while, Kelsi," He told her honestly.

"Really?" She asked.

He nodded. He had his eye on a completely different unavailable girl this time around.


	39. Deleted Scenes: Routine

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes...Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Routine

* * *

  
_

"I need your help," Ryan said as he found Kelsi in the rehearsal room.

"Sure, with what?" She asked.

"The Routine for 'Everyday'," He told her. Her eyes widened.

"Oh, no. No," She said with a shake of her head.

"Please? I need to see what these moves look like when a girl does them, and besides it will seem less suspicious if _you_ go to Gabby's house and teach them to her," He said.

"Do I have to?" She whined.

He chuckled, "Yes, you do."

"Ugh, fine, but I'm doing this under protest," She told him.

"Point taken," He laughed.


	40. Deleted Scenes: Why?

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

* * *

_Why?

* * *

  
_

Kelsi did not expect to see Luke waiting for her to get off work, and she really didn't expect Ryan to walk her out. She gulped nervously and bit her lip as they approached Luke.

"Kelsi," Luke said in acknowledgment. "Will you excuse me while I talk to Ryan for a minute."

Kelsi's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to protest, but Luke pulled Ryan aside before she could. They had walked into a shadowy area of the lot where she couldn't really see them. She nibbled on her thumb nail nervously. Luke had become even more jealous since she and Ryan had started working on "Everyday" together.


	41. Deleted Scenes: Secrets

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Secrets

* * *

  
_

"What did you say to Ryan?" Kelsi asked as Luke drover her home.

"Just told him how it was that's all," Luke said with tense jaw.

Kelsi sighed in a forlorn manner. This had gone too far. She couldn't keep putting Luke through this. It wasn't fair to him, "I'm sorry, Luke."

"What?" He asked.

"I can't do this anymore," She said as she swallowed thickly. "You're a great guy, but-"

"Ryan's the guy you told me about isn't he? The one you had a crush on when I asked you out?"

She nodded sadly, "Yes."

"I should have seen it before now," Luke said as he shook his head.

Kelsi slipped off her silver chain with Luke's class ring on it and left it in the seat as she got out of the car, "I'm sorry."


	42. Deleted Scenes: Smile

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Smile

* * *

  
_

Ryan walked into the rehearsal room and noticed Kelsi looked really upset. She was just sitting at the piano staring at her hands.

"Kels? Are you okay?"

"Luke and I broke up," She told him.

"When?" He asked in shock.

"Last night."

He nodded, "Yeah, last night. I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble."

"It definitely wasn't you, Ryan. It was ALL me," She told him.

"Well, it looks like you could use some cheering up then right?" He asked sincerely. "Cause I happen to know where Chef Michael hides the cheesecake for the dining room if you would like to join me."

Her lips spread in to a small smile, "Cheesecake, huh?"

He nodded.

"Lead the way, Mr. Evans," Kelsi said as she turned that smile in his direction. "I think that sounds like _exactly_ what I need right now."


	43. Deleted Scenes: Patience

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Patience

* * *

  
_

Ryan had been waiting for Luke and Kelsi to break up for a long time, but now that it actually happened he realized things were a lot more complicated than he thought they would be. He couldn't just jump right in and make a move now. Whether Kelsi liked him or not she still felt had some kind of feeling for Luke. He had meant something to her, and he wanted to let her deal with that. She _needed_ to deal with that.

Besides, he had already waited this long and he was positive waiting a little longer would be no problem. He knew Kelsi was worth it.


	44. Deleted Scenes: Dare

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

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* * *

Dare

* * *

  
_

"Hey, Kels," Jason said as the group started to gather by the pool. They were all going to hang out and watch the fireworks on the golf course.

She smiled, "Hey, Jase."

"I have a dare for you," He said.

"You do?"

He nodded, "I dare you to completely let loose and have fun tonight."

Her brow furrowed, "I have fun!"

"You've never completely let loose though," Jason told her. "You've always kept up part of that shell of yours."

"I don't understand," She sighed.

He smiled and nudged her shoulder with his, "Then stop thinking so much. That's what gets you in trouble, Playmaker."

She smirked, "That funny because not thinking _enough_ is what always gets you in trouble."

He placed a hand over his heart in mock pain and chuckled, "Ouch, Nielson. That was cold."


	45. Deleted Scenes: Take My Hand

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Take My Hand

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_

As the group started their way up the hill on the edge of the golf course Zeke turned and smiled at Sharpay. He held out his hand to her, "Are you coming?"

She stared at his hand for a moment, and bit her bottom lip. She would never understand why Zeke liked her so much. She was horrible to him, and yet…he was _always_ so sweet. She couldn't scare him away like she could everyone else. She didn't know if she admired that or if it frightened her. She swallowed thickly and nervously placed her hand in his. As soon as her hand was in his she felt strangely comforted. She was still nervous though. After all, she had spent the entire summer being terrible to the people in this group. She was still afraid that their sudden acceptance would turn out to be some kind of a joke.

But as much as she fought off Zeke she knew him better than that. He would never do something like that to her. Out of all the Wildcats he was the only one who _constantly_ thought the best of her. She took a deep breath and looked up into his smiling face, and was struck once again by how unbelievably sweet he was. Zeke Baylor could break down all of her walls if she wasn't careful, but at this particular moment...she found that she didn't care. For once she was going to let the Ice Queen melt away and _just_ be Sharpay.

"Let's go," She said with a smile.


	46. Deleted Scenes: Spellbound

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Spellbound

* * *

  
_

Chad stared affectionately at Taylor as they stood on top of the hill. He couldn't count how many times he wondered what she was doing with him. She was so smart, and so…perfect. He was sure there were plenty of guys out there closer to her level, and yet…she was with him. The dumb jock. He may not be the best boyfriend around, but he certainly tried his hardest because that's what she deserved. She deserved the best, and so that's what he wanted to be. She made him want to be a better person, a better student...a better man.


	47. Deleted Scenes: Pride

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

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Pride

* * *

  
_

Ryan watched Martha stare at Jason in amusement.

"You need to tell him."

She looked at him in confusion, "Tell who what?"

"Tell Jason that you like him, of course," Ryan said with a smile.

"What? That's ridiculous, I don't-"

"Yeah, yeah, save it somebody who hasn't been where you are, my friend," Ryan chuckled. "Trust me, realize it now and _say_ something."

"I can't have a crush on Jason. Guys like him…well, they don't go for girls like me," She said with a sigh.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. All I see is a beautiful, talented, and intelligent girl. What's not to go for?" He asked. Martha sighed again and smiled gratefully at Ryan, but said nothing. "You know you and Kelsi have that same problem with being self deprecating. You two really need to stop that."

"Experience tells me that it won't ever happen," Martha said with a sigh.

He shook his head at her, "I don't think it's fair that you've just assumed Jason is like every other guy you've had a crush on. Did you ever think that he might be different? You've got to try Martha or else you'll always look back and wonder."


	48. Deleted Scenes: Youth

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Youth

* * *

  
_

This could very well be their last truly free moment. Kelsi realized that some of them would receive scholarships, and some of them would go to college out of state. Both of those usually required students to arrive to campus early so they may not have much of a summer after senior year. _This_ could be their last moment of childhood. Jason was right. She needed to let go and enjoy it. She needed to truly and completely come out of her shell. The sprinklers suddenly went off and Kelsi squealed in surprise. Jason picked her up and carried her further into the spray of the water. She laughed as he set her back down and slapped him playfully. She took a deep breath and took off through the wet grass. She extended her arms and ran. She ran like she didn't care who saw. She ran like she had when she was a kid. She was going to enjoy being young.


	49. Deleted Scenes: Dependence

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

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Dependence

* * *

  
_

They were all going back to school the next day, and Sharpay just knew things would go back to the way they were. She would show up to school and the Wildcats would treat her the way they always treated her. Like the Ice Queen. There was no way she was going to depend on their kindness. That suspicion that it had all just been one big joke made it's way to the surface again. She wouldn't blame them if that was the case. She would probably want revenge too if she were them, but she _refused_ to be humiliated like that. No, she was simply going to pretend the summer never happened. That last night at the club where she'd been one of them…_never happened_. She could pretend that was true, couldn't she? She _was_ Sharpay Evans after all. She was an actress to her core.


	50. Deleted Scenes: Knight

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

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Knight

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_

Kelsi's phone rang and her eyes widened at the name that appeared on her caller ID. She hesitantly answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kelsi. It's Luke," He said with a nervous gulp. "I just wanted let you know that there aren't any hard feelings on my end. I promise."

"Really? You don't completely hate me?"

She heard him chuckle softly, "I could never completely hate you. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, so you don't freak out at school tomorrow, that I moved in with my dad on the other side of town. I've been transferred to West High."

"You're a knight now?" She asked in a strange tone.

"Tell me about," He said. "I'm not too thrilled about it either."


	51. Deleted Scenes: Album

**HSM2: Deleted Scenes…Small Person Style**

_

* * *

Album

* * *

  
_

Kelsi laughed at a picture that Martha held up for her to see. It was a ridiculous picture of Chad, Troy, Zeke, Jason and Ryan where they were all making some kind of goofy face. The girls had gathered at Gabriella's house to make a photo album to commemorate their summer. Gabriella frowned at her phone as she hung up again.

"Sharpay still not answering?" Taylor asked.

"No," Gabriella said in a worried tone. "Zeke said that he can't get a hold of her either."

"Maybe her phone's off," Martha suggested.

"Maybe," Gabriella said. Deep down they all knew what was happening. Sharpay was shutting herself off from them, and there wasn't much they could do to stop her.

But maybe...just maybe Sharpay had taken _something_ away from her short time with them. Gabriella couldn't help but hope that _some_ part of her still wanted to be friends with them.

* * *

_Okay, guys, this completes "Small Person". Now here's what's going to happen with the sequel, I need to take a break from "Small Person" and do something a little different. I've been working on another Ryelsi story that I will be posting soon. After I work on that one for a while I will then post "Playmaker" (that's the title I've come up with, what do you guys think?). Now, I'm not going to wait until "East High Drama Club" (my new story) is complete_, _but I want to work on it for a while before I start on "Playmaker". _

_I will be posting "Playmaker" updates in the Author's Notes of "East High Drama Club" so if you want to know what's going on with that then you can go read that one (sneaky right? I get you to read my other story by promising news on another one? *wink*). So be on the look out for "East High Drama Club" that's coming very soon, and I'll let you guys know when I'm ready to post "Playmaker". _

_I can tell all of you right now that I have all of "Playmaker" planned so once I start writing it then it shouldn't take me long to finish it. But I do have a question for you guys though does anyone know of a prompt challenge that I could use for the Deleted Scenes of "Playmaker" like I used JD's Challenge for "Small Person"? It would be a huge help if someone could point me in the direction of a prompt challenge. _

_Hope you guys enjoyed this story! And I hope you'll enjoy the next one even more!_

_angellwings  
_


End file.
